Afghanistan
Angola
Argentina
Asia (AFC)
Asian Games
Australia
Belgium-Netherlands
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Central American & Caribbean Games
Central American Games
Congo DR
Denmark
England
Europe (UEFA)
FYR Macedonia
Finland
Germany
Greece
International Tournaments
Italy
Mediterranean Games
Mexico
National
Nepal
North & Central America (Concacaf)
Palestine
Pan American Games
Panama
Russia
Scandinavia
Serbia And Montenegro
South American Games
Spain
Syria
USA
Venezuela
World (FIFA)
Yemen
Zimbabwe

Preview: Angers vs. Toulouse - prediction, team news, lineups

sportsmole.co.uk, 10 March 2023, 10:29
Toulouse will aim to arrest a potential slide down the Ligue 1 table on Sunday, when they travel to take on basement side Angers.

Three consecutive defeats have seen the visitors drop to 12th spot in the French top flight, while their hosts have also lost their last three games and find themselves rooted to the foot of the division, 10 points behind 19th-placed Troyes and 12 points adrift of safety.

Match preview

After comfortably avoiding the drop in Ligue 1 last season, it has certainly been a dismal campaign for Angers, who find themselves quickly sliding towards relegation.

In their 26 games thus far, Les Noirs et Blancs have managed just 10 points, having conceded a league-high tally of 58 goals while only netting 21 at the other end of the pitch.

Those 10 points include just two victories, which came back-to-back in September, only to be followed by 13 straight top-flight defeats before they, at least, managed to play out draws with Lorient and Auxerre.

The results did not provide any valuable foundations for Angers, though, and following those, they now head into the weekend on the back of three more defeats, firstly losing to Strasbourg and Lyon, before Abdel Bouhazama's departure was followed by a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Montpellier HSC, in which Nabil Bentaleb was sent off on the hour mark with their hosts already 4-0 up.

Now 10 points behind their closest competitor at the bottom end of the division and 12 points adrift of safety, having not won a league game in almost six months, Les Noirs et Blancs look all but condemned to relegation this time around but will aim to rebuild some confidence with just a third league win of the season this weekend.

They meet a Toulouse side who will hope to bounce back from a dip in form, having now dropped to 12th in the mid-table battle following a run of defeats.

Les Violets secured a return to Ligue 1 last season, and after a tough start to the campaign, they drastically improved their standing with a strong run after the turn of the year, picking up four victories from a five-match span and drawing the other to move onto 29 points from 21 league outings.

That run was halted by a narrow defeat away at league leaders Paris Saint-Germain, and they did initially bounce back by beating fifth-placed Rennes 3-1, but Philippe Montanier's men now head into the weekend on the back of three straight defeats in the top flight, firstly falling to Marseille and Reims before they were, at least, able to seal progression to the Coupe de France semi-finals with a 6-1 thrashing of Rodez thanks to a Thijs Dallinga brace and goals from Zakaria Aboukhlal, Branco van den Boomen, Fares Chaibi and Gabriel Suazo.

Hoping to take momentum from that progression and climb back towards the top half of the Ligue 1 table, Les Violets returned to action at home to mid-table rivals Clermont on Sunday, but they fell just short with Saif-Eddine Khaoui's goal 14 minutes from time making the only difference, and seeing Les Lanciers leapfrog Toulouse as a result.

Having now dropped back to 12th spot following that result, with a nine-point gap to 10th-placed Lyon and just a two-point lead over 13th-placed Montpellier, Montanier's side will be desperate to begin looking back up the division once again rather than down it, and they will see Sunday as a good opportunity to put their tough run behind them and make a return to winning ways.

Angers Ligue 1 form:

L

D

D

L

L

L

Angers form (all competitions):

D

L

D

L

L

L

Toulouse Ligue 1 form:

W

L

W

L

L

L

Toulouse form (all competitions):

W

W

L

L

W

L

Team News

Angers will come into the contest without key midfielder Nabil Bentaleb, who will serve a suspension after he was shown a red card in their 5-0 defeat to Montpellier last time out.

In his absence, Pierrick Capelle may come into the midfield alongside Himad Abdelli and Batista Mendy, while defender Ousmane Camara should be replaced by Miha Blazic from the outset.

At the top end of the pitch, goals are in short supply, particularly following the January departure of Sofiane Boufal, and Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Abdallah Sima will continue to play an important role on the right wing, with Amine Salama likely operating on the other flank and Ibrahima Niane and Adrien Hunou fighting to play down the middle from the start.

Toulouse will continue to line up in a 4-2-3-1 shape, with Thijs Dallinga bound to again lead the line having netted 13 goals so far this season including nine in Ligue 1.

He will be flanked by Fares Chaibi and fellow danger man Zakaria Aboukhlal, who has contributed six goals and five assists in his 26 league appearances so far this term.

Elsewhere, Stijn Spierings is a mainstay in the engine room and will again join Branco van den Boomen at the base of midfield, while Rasmus Nicolaisen and Anthony Rouault should again partner up in the middle of the back four.

Angers possible starting lineup:

Bernardoni; Valery, Blazic, Hountondji, Chetti; Capelle, Mendy, Abdelli; Sima, Niane, Salama

Toulouse possible starting lineup:

Dupe; Desler, Nicolaisen, Rouault, Suazo; Spierings, Van Den Boomen; Aboukhlal, Dejaegere, Chaibi; Dallinga

We say: Angers 0-2 Toulouse

Although Toulouse are not at their best at present, they will be desperate to return to winning ways and will see this weekend as a great chance to do so.

Previews by email

Top News

14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk England moved to the top of their 2024-25 UEFA Nations League group on Thursday evening courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Greece. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Didier Deschamps was left frustrated on Thursday as his France side failed to capitalise on their dominance against Israel, being held to a 0-0 draw, though they still progressed to the UEFA Nations League quarterfinals after Italy beat Belgium in the other League A Group 2 fixture. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk England have risen to the top of Group 2 of League B in the UEFA Nations League courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Greece in Athens on Thursday night. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Sandro Tonali's first international goal was enough to send Italy through to the finals of the UEFA Nations League courtesy of a 1-0 win away in Belgium this evening. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea Women and Manchester City Women will go head-to-head in Saturday's top-of-the-table clash at Stamford Bridge. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Pep Guardiola has asked Manchester City to sign two defenders in 2025, according to a report. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Al-Nassr centre-back Aymeric Laporte has said that he is open to making the move to Real Madrid. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona sporting director Deco has said that his club are not planning to be active during the January transfer window. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Moldova can boost their hopes of securing promotion from League D Group 2 in the UEFA Nations League when they face fellow European minnows Andorra at Estadi Nacional on Saturday. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Montenegro welcome Iceland to Stadion Kraj Bistrice in Niksic for their penultimate League B Group 4 fixture in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday evening. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal Women and Tottenham Hotspur Women will be looking to secure derby bragging rights when they face off in Saturday's Women's Super League clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Nacho has ruled out the possibility of returning to Real Madrid amid suggestions that Los Blancos were considering making an attempt to re-sign him during the January transfer window. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Two teams with contrasting objectives in the National League are set to meet at the Gateshead International Stadium on Saturday, as promotion hopefuls Gateshead host relegation-threatened Aldershot Town. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Ruben Amorim will reportedly take Manchester United training for the first time on Monday, with the club confident that his visa will have arrived in time for him to officially get on the grass next week. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni has said that a back issue forced Lisandro Martinez to pull out of the squad for the national team's upcoming 2026 World Cup qualification matches with Paraguay and Peru. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso has reportedly set his sights on an exit from the club next summer, and plans to take key man Alex Grimaldo with him. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Locked together at the top of League C Group 1 with two games to play, Sweden and Slovakia will battle it out to take the outright lead when they meet on Saturday evening. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal will reportedly allow out-of-favour defender Jakub Kiwior to leave the club on loan in January. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Wales travel to the Kadir Has Stadium in Kayseri to face Turkey in their penultimate League B Group 4 fixture in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday evening. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona midfielder Pablo Torre has not ruled out the possibility of leaving the club in January, after seeing his game time reduced recently. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aiming to narrow their gap to the top two in the League One table with a third consecutive victory, Barnsley will visit the Abbey Stadium to take on Cambridge United on Saturday. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Alexander Isak has delivered a fresh update on his future at Newcastle United, amid reported interest from a number of clubs including Arsenal. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk West Ham United Women will attempt to claim back-to-back victories when they travel to the Broadfield Stadium for Saturday's Women's Super League meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion Women. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Roma have confirmed the appointment of 73-year-old Claudio Ranieri as their new first-team manager until the end of the season. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon has revealed that he was "desperate" to join Chelsea in 2022. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal could rival Manchester City and Liverpool for the signature of Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool are reportedly weighing up whether to make a move for in-form PSV Eindhoven striker Ricardo Pepi. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk As exquisite as Pedro Neto's equaliser was, the Portuguese's 20-yard leveller for Chelsea in Sunday's 1-1 Premier League draw with Arsenal was arguably more to do with the Gunners' uncharacteristic defensive failings. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona have reportedly made a decision over whether they will pursue a move for Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Estevao Willian has revealed that he will continue with his education even after completing a big-money transfer to Chelsea.