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

The visitors find themselves two points inside the Ligue 1 drop zone with four games left, while the hosts sit 10 points clear of Nantes and the bottom four.

Match preview

A fortnight on from Toulouse's 5-1 thrashing of Nantes in the Coupe de France final, the two sides will renew acquaintances at Stadium de Toulouse, with the hosts hoping for a repeat of last month's demolition.

Le Tefece recorded their first draw since January last time out, as relegation strugglers Ajaccio held Philippe Montanier's men to a goalless stalemate, despite the visitors racking up 15 shots while enjoying the lion's share of the ball.

Owing to a run of 11 wins and eight losses in all competitions, Toulouse have not been used to sharing the spoils in recent months, so last weekend's draw came as something of a shock to Montanier and his players.

Naturally, TFC will be eager to return to winning ways and finish the season on a high, but they could struggle to claim all three points this weekend, having suffered five consecutive league defeats at Stadium de Toulouse.

To make matters worse for Le Tefece, they have failed to score in three of their previous four home games, giving Nantes a glimmer of hope ahead of Sunday's showdown.

Having parted company with Antoine Kombouare on Tuesday, Nantes will now rely on caretaker manager Pierre Aristouy to keep the club in the division.

It is fair to say that Kombouare can have very few complaints about the decision to let him go, as the Canaries have failed to win any of their previous 11 league matches, recording four draws and seven losses in the process.

Last weekend's 2-0 defeat to relegation rivals Strasbourg proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Kombouare, who managed to oversee just six wins in 34 Ligue 1 games this season.

Consequently, Nantes are now battling against Auxerre, Brest and Strasbourg to beat the drop, with Ajaccio and Troyes on the verge of joining already-relegated Angers in Ligue 2 next term.

While Toulouse have suffered five successive home losses, Nantes have failed to win any of their last five away games while suffering four defeats, with recent losses to Auxerre and Brest plunging the Canaries into the bottom four.

Toulouse Ligue 1 form:

L

W

L

W

L

D

Toulouse form (all competitions):

W

L

W

W

L

D

Nantes Ligue 1 form:

L

D

L

D

L

L

Nantes form (all competitions):

D

L

D

L

L

L

Team News

Toulouse are still without long-term absentee Rhys Healey as the former Cardiff City and MK Dons striker continues to recover from an ACL injury.

As a result, Dutch forward Thijs Dallinga will continue to lead the line for TFC, having scored 18 goals in 39 appearances across all competitions this season.

Elsewhere, Branco van den Boomen and Stijn Spierings will anchor the midfield, enabling Fares Chaibi, Brecht Dejaegere and Zakaria Aboukhlal to push forward and support Dallinga in attack.

Nantes look set to be without Moussa Sissoko on Sunday as the experienced midfielder missed last weekend's 2-0 defeat to Brest with a muscle injury.

There are also question marks over the fitness of Spanish midfielder Pedro Chirivella, who has not featured since early April due to a hernia issue.

If Pierre Aristouy opts to stick with Nantes' familiar 3-4-1-2 formation, Fabien Centonze and Quentin Merlin will occupy the wing-back roles, with Ludovic Blas supporting Mostafa Mohamed and Ignatius Ganago up front.

Toulouse possible starting lineup:

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

Nantes possible starting lineup:

Laftont; Victor, Castelletto, Pallois; Centonze, Girotto, Moutoussamy, Merlin; Blas; Mohamed, Ganago

We say: Toulouse 2-2 Nantes

Given Toulouse's recent wobbles on home soil, Nantes are expected to give the hosts a run for their money, but the visitors will struggle to claim all three points on Sunday.

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