Toulouse are set to welcome European hopefuls Auxerre to Stadium de Toulouse on Sunday in their 13th Ligue 1 match of the campaign.
The hosts were beaten 3-0 by Paris Saint-Germain on November 22 and are in 10th place with 15 points, while their opponents are eighth with 19 points from 12 games and emerged as 1-0 victors against Angers on November 24.
Match preview
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Toulouse will feel that they should have taken at least a point against PSG considering they created four big chances, one more than the Ligue 1 champions.
Boss Carles Martinez spoke of his regrets following the defeat and said: "The feeling's mixed because we knew how to generate chances and as the minutes went by, we said 'why not equalize?' We had to equalize. But when we took the second and third goals, it gave us a headache because we were pushing at that moment. We are not happy."
Only three of the division's 18 clubs have scored fewer than Les Violets' 13 goals, though their record of 14 conceded is the top flight's sixth-best defensive return.
To Martinez's credit, his side are in good form having won three and drawn one of the four matches prior to their clash with PSG, keeping three clean sheets in that period.
Toulouse's showings at home have been mixed, with the club winning two, drawing one and losing one of their last four fixtures at Stadium de Toulouse.
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As for the visitors, they had to endure prolonged spells without the ball in the second half considering they only accumulated 45% possession, and they ultimately relied on a 93rd-minute winner from Hamed Traore to claim all three points.
Auxerre head coach Christophe Pelissier will believe that his team can qualify for European football given they are level on points with sixth-placed Lyon, who occupy Ligue 1's Conference League qualification spot, and are in fact just three points from the division's fourth-placed Champions League playoff spot.
AJA's return of 21 goals scored and 19 conceded makes them the top flight's joint fourth-best offensive and joint seventh-worst defensive team in Ligue 1.
Pelissier's side have been excellent in recent weeks and are unbeaten in their last five outings, achieving victory on four occasions.
However, despite their strong overall form, the visitors have lost four and drawn one of their six outings on the road this term, though they are unbeaten in their past two.
Team News
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The hosts will be without centre-back Rasmus Nicolaisen, but he is at least scheduled to return early next month.
Goalkeeper Guillaume Restes is certain to start in goal, and he could be shielded by centre-backs Mark McKenzie, Charlie Cresswell and Umit Akdag.
Cristian Casseres Junior and Vincent Sierro are likely to start in midfield, while Zakaria Aboukhlal, Yann Gboho and Joshua King may be chosen to lead Toulouse's attack.
Meanwhile, Auxerre right-back Ange Loic N'Gatta has been ruled out until late December, and forward Lasso Coulibaly is not scheduled to make his comeback from a cruciate ligament injury until May 2025.
Expect Pelissier to field a back three featuring Gabriel Osho, Jubal and Clement Akpa in front of goalkeeper Donovan Leon.
Elisha Owusu and Kevin Danois could partner each other in midfield behind a front three consisting of Gaetan Perrin, Hamed Junior Traore and Lassine Sinayoko.
Toulouse possible starting lineup:
Restes; McKenzie, Cresswell, Akdag; Kamanzi, Casseres Junior, Sierro, Donnum; Aboukhlal, Gboho, King
Auxerre possible starting lineup:
Leon; Osho, Jubal, Akpa; Hoever, Owusu, Danois, Mensah; Perrin, Traore, Sinayoko
We say: Toulouse 1-2 Auxerre
Toulouse have been inconsistent at home, but their overall form suggests that they will at least make Sunday's clash a competitive affair.
Despite Auxerre's struggles on the road this season, they have at least started to improve away from home, so they should be considered slight favourites to claim another three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
