Sunday sees the second leg of Ligue 1’s relegation playoff, as Nantes host Toulouse at the Stade de la Beaujoire.
Nantes will be taking a 2-1 lead into the second leg after defeating Toulouse on Thursday. The Ligue 2 side will be looking to overhaul that advantage to gain promotion to the French top-flight.
Which side will come out on top and take the final Ligue 1 place for the 2021-22 season?
Nantes vs Toulouse Head-to-Head
Naturally, the first thing worth addressing is the first leg of this playoff, which took place on Thursday.
The match saw Nantes run out 1-2 winners thanks to goals from Ludovic Blas and Randal Kolo Muani, but it wasn’t a one-sided game by any means.
Toulouse had more shots than the visitors, had slightly more possession, and were arguably on top of the match for lengthy stretches.
Toulouse have been a free-scoring side this season, delivering the most goals in Ligue 2 with a total of 71. They will probably start top scorer Rhys Healey for this match.
They’ll need to keep things tighter at the back if they’re to triumph here though. Nantes’ attack has looked stronger in recent weeks while they’ve also tightened things up at the back.
The fact that Nantes scored with two of their four shots on target doesn’t bode well for the visitors overall.
Nantes form guide: W-W-W-L-W
Toulouse form guide: W-D-D-W-L
Nantes vs Toulouse Team News
Nantes
According to sources, Nantes are lucky enough to have no injury concerns coming into this game, although they may make some changes to their starting XI.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Toulouse
Toulouse have no injury concerns worth reporting, although they may decide to bring some new players into the lineup after Thursday’s loss.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Nantes vs Toulouse Predicted XI
Nantes predicted XI (4-4-2): Alban Lafont, Sebastien Corchia, Andrei Girotto, Nicolas Pallois, Charles Traore, Randal Kolo Muani, Renaud Emond, Pedro Chirivella, Moses Simon, Kalifa Coulibaly, Ludovic Blas
Toulouse predicted XI (3-5-2): Maxime Dupe, Kelvin Amian, Sebastien Dewaest, Ruben Gabrielsen, Sam Sanna, Branco van den Boomen, Stijn Spierings, Kouadio Kone, Deiver Machado, Rhys Healey, Vakoun Issouf Bayo
Nantes vs Toulouse Prediction
With just one goal in it right now, this playoff is still on a knife-edge.
Toulouse definitely have the firepower in their side to overturn the deficit, but may not be strong enough in defense to keep out the likes of Muani and Blas.
A draw is the prediction, with Nantes remaining a Ligue 1 side next season.
Prediction: Nantes 1-1 Toulouse
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