Relegation-threatened Le Havre will continue their Ligue 1 survival bid when they welcome Toulouse to Stade Oceane on Sunday.
The hosts are languishing in 17th place in the Ligue 1 table, while the visitors will head into the weekend in 10th position.
Match preview
© Imago
Le Havre have a real fight on their hands to extend their two-season in the top flight, having won five, drawn two and lost 15 of their 22 league games this season.
As a result of that underwhelming record, Le Havre are currently one point behind the relegation spot and four points adrift from safety altogether.
Didier Digard's side recorded their most recent victory in an away game against Lille earlier this month, with Ahmed Hassan and Issa Soumare finding the net to end the club's eight-game winless league run.
However, they were unable to back up that result in Sunday's home meeting with Nice, who eased to a 3-1 victory to condemn Le Havre to a sixth consecutive home defeat in Ligue 1.
Le Havre will be desperate to end that losing run this weekend, as they go in search of their first home win since beating Montpellier 1-0 at the start of November.
Claiming all three points will certainly be easier said than done given the fact that they have failed to score in six of their 11 home league games this season.
© Imago
After beating Lens 1-0 on January 5, Toulouse were sitting in eighth place and just three points adrift of the top six in the race for European qualification.
However, their European hopes have since been dealt a significant blow by a six-game winless run (D3, L3), causing them to fall nine points away from the top six with 12 matches left to play.
Toulouse recently recorded back-to-back draws against Nice and Auxerre, before they fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat in last Saturday's home meeting with leaders Paris Saint-Germain.
Carles Martinez's side kept the reigning champions at bay until the half-time interval, but Fabian Ruiz ultimately found the breakthrough in the second period to condemn Toulouse to a third defeat in four home league games (D1).
Meanwhile, on the road, Les Violets have won just one of their previous five away matches, although they have managed to avoid defeat in each of their last three games away from Stadium de Toulouse.
The visitors do have the chance to complete a league double over Le Havre after clinching a 2-0 victory in September's reverse fixture.
Team News
© Iconsport
Le Havre could be without the services of Daler Kuzyaev, Fode Ballo-Toure, Daren Mosengo, Abdoulaye Toure and Andy Logbo.
Midfielder Rassoul Ndiaye could be considered for a starting spot after featuring as a half-time substitute against Nice.
Andre Ayew will be hoping to get the nod over Hassan, having had to settle for a bench role in the last three matches.
As for the visitors, they are unable to call upon Niklas Schmidt and Josh King, while goalkeeper Guillaume Restes is unlikely to be involved after being forced off in the first half against PSG.
Kjetil Haug came off the bench to replace Restes last weekend, and he now looks set to feature between the posts in Sunday's contest.
Zakaria Aboukhlal will offer one of Toulouse's main goal threats after scoring six goals and providing two assists in 22 league appearances this season.
Le Havre possible starting lineup:
Gorgelin; Nego, Kinkoue, Sangante, Zouaoui; Joujou, Ndiaye, Mwanga, Kechta, Soumare; Ayew
Toulouse possible starting lineup:
Haug; Canvot, Cresswell, Akdag; Donnum, Casseres, Sierro, Suazo; Babicka, Aboukhlal, Magri
We say: Le Havre 1-2 Toulouse
Toulouse may be experiencing a poor run of form, but we think that Sunday's fixture against relegation-threatened Le Havre represents the perfect opportunity for them to return to winning ways, especially as the hosts have lost each of their previous six home matches in Ligue 1.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
