Toulousevs.Monaco

The visitors, who are currently fourth in the Ligue 1 table, will enter the contest off the back of a 3-0 victory over Reims, while eighth-placed Toulouse were 4-0 winners over Angers last time out.

Match preview

Toulouse went six games without a win in Ligue 1 between January 12 and February 15, picking up just three points during a poor run, but they have responded with two excellent wins on their travels.

Indeed, Carles Martinez's side beat Le Havre 4-1 on February 23 before recording a 4-0 victory over Angers last time out, with the result leaving them in eighth position in the Ligue 1 table, boasting 33 points from 24 matches.

Le Tef are only six points behind sixth-placed Lyon, with the club bidding to secure European football for just the seventh time in their history, and another victory on Friday night would sent out a huge message.

Toulouse have had mixed results on home soil this season, winning four, drawing three and losing five of their 12 matches to collect 15 points, but Monaco have had issues on their travels, picking up only 14 points from 11 matches.

Les Violets have actually won two of their last four Ligue 1 matches against Monaco, but it was 2-0 to the principality outfit when the two teams locked horns for the reverse fixture earlier this season.

Monaco will enter this match off the back of a 3-0 win over Reims, with the result moving them into fourth spot in the Ligue 1 table, picking up 43 points from their 24 matches during the 2024-25 campaign.

Adi Hutter's side sit three points behind third-placed Nice and six from Marseille in second, but they are a huge 19 points off the leaders Paris Saint-Germain, who are set to run away with the championship this term.

The Red and Whites, who finished second in Ligue 1 last term, saw their Champions League journey for the 2024-25 campaign come to an end in the playoff knockout round, losing 4-3 on aggregate to Benfica.

Monaco only have the league to focus on for the remainder of the campaign, and they will certainly be looking to claim the runner-up spot once again, but they are also only six points ahead of seventh-placed Strasbourg.

The principality side are unbeaten against Toulouse away from home since October 2016, with their last two defeats to Friday's opponents in France's top flight actually coming on home soil.

Toulouse Ligue 1 form:

L

D

D

L

W

W

Toulouse form (all competitions):

D

L

D

L

W

W

Monaco Ligue 1 form:

W

W

L

W

L

W

Monaco form (all competitions):

L

L

W

D

L

W

Team News

Toulouse will again be without the services of Guillaume Restes, Rasmus Nicolaisen, Niklas Schmidt and Zakaria Aboukhlal on Friday, while Josh King remains a doubt due to a calf problem.

The hosts have not reported any fresh issues from their clash against Angers last time out, though, and due to the manner of the performance, it would not be a surprise to see the same XI take to the field here.

With seven-goal Aboukhlal out injured, Shavy Babicka is Toulouse's leading goalscorer in terms of the players currently available, and he will be aiming to add to the four goals that he has registered this season in Friday's clash.

As for Monaco, Denis Zakaria will miss the match through suspension, while Aleksandr Golovin, Folarin Balogun, Jordan Teze and Soungoutou Magassa remain doubts for the league fixture.

The visitors could also be without Mika Biereth, who scored a hat trick against Reims last time out to move onto 10 goals in 10 matches for the club, but there is a hope that the 22-year-old will be able to overcome the issue which led to him being substituted in the team's last fixture.

Lamine Camara is allegedly the subject of interest from as many as 11 clubs, including Manchester City and Chelsea, and there should be a spot in the middle of the Monaco midfield for the 21-year-old in this contest.

Toulouse possible starting lineup:

Haug; Sidibe, Cresswell, McKenzie; Messali, Casseres, Sierro, Suazo; Donnum, Magri, Babicka

Monaco possible starting lineup:

Majecki; Vanderson, Kehrer, Mawissa, Henrique; Al Musrati, Camara; Akliouche, Embolo, Minamino; Biereth

We say: Toulouse 1-2 Monaco

Toulouse have been excellent in their last two matches and will be confident of picking up a positive result on Friday night. That said, Monaco have so much quality in the forward areas, and we are expecting the visitors to navigate their way to an important three points at Stadium de Toulouse.

Written by

Matt Law

Previews by email