Toulouse and Lyon kickoff the weekend of football in France at Stadium TFC. A Ligue 1 clash on Friday night.
The two clubs had very differing fortunes in the Coupe de France semi-finals recently. Where they could have met in the final.
Toulouse showed no signs of a Coupe de France celebration hangover last weekend. Seeing off Montpellier HSC just days after sealing their place in the final of that competition.
Preview: Toulouse vs. Lyon – prediction, team news, lineups
Beating Montpellier was a real eye-catching result given they had not lost in seven matches, and it rounded off the perfect week after they defeated Annecy on Thursday to reach a first-ever Coupe de France final.
It also took them to 38 points which means they may only need one or two more points to be absolutely assured of avoiding the drop.
Their current position of being marooned in mid-table looks safe, but Philippe Montanier’s side have been rather poor on the league front recently, so they will need to carry some confidence over from a very positive week into this fixture.
Preview: Toulouse vs. Lyon – prediction, team news, lineups
Toulouse have not won at home in the league in two months, losing their last three at Stadium TFC.
Their record against Lyon does not provide much encouragement either, as they are winless in their last 13 meetings, losing 11.
Therefore, the hosts may look towards Thijs Dallinga for some inspiration, as the Dutch forward scored his 12th league goal against Montpellier in what has been a fruitful first season in France, especially in 2023.
Toulouse’s last six wins have seen Dallinga score on each occasion, so his impact may be crucial here.
While Toulouse enjoyed Coupe de France semi-final success, Lyon fell at the same hurdle, losing to Nantes, but they responded from that disappointment well by beating Rennes 3-1 in Ligue 1.
That result kept Laurent Blanc’s hopes of taking Lyon into Europe alive, in what has been a challenging season for OL.
An unbeaten run now stretching back six games in the league has kept them in touch with the European places, but a Europa Conference League place is the only realistic possibility at this stage.
Alexandre Lacazette has been a huge factor in keeping their season alive, scoring 12 goals in his last 12 appearances.
He was unable to guide them to success in that huge cup semi-final though, which was a very demoralising result, coming during a week of hugely differing emotions, as it came just three days after Lyon won at the Parc des Princes against Paris Saint-Germain in the league.
