Aiming to keep their faint hopes of Conference League qualification alive, Brest will travel to the South Coast on Sunday afternoon to face Toulouse in Ligue 1.
Les Violets are looking to address their worrying home form as the campaign reaches its business end, whilst Les Pirates are on a mission to record a third straight clean sheet.
Match preview
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Following back-to-back campaigns of consolidation following their title-winning season of 2021-22 in Ligue 2, Toulouse appear to be heading towards another year of midtable mediocrity in Ligue 1, especially following a pair of lacklustre results prior to the international break.
A four-goal smashing of relegation-threatened Angers at the beginning of March certainly wet the appetite of Les Violets supporters, however their side have since collected just a single point from four available, drawing at home to Monaco before suffering defeat at Strasbourg on March 16.
It looked as if Toulouse were on for a much-needed away maximum last time out when striker Frank Magri fired his side ahead inside the opening four minutes of the contest, however Strasbourg fought back valiantly in the second period, with goals from Andrey Santos and Felix Lemarechal securing success for the hosts.
Looking for their second Ligue 1 victory of the month on Sunday afternoon at Stadium de Toulouse, Les Violets are currently occupying a respectable 10th spot in the top-flight standings, although they reside 10 points behind Lille, who are guarding entry to the European positions.
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Plying their trade in the Champions League for the first-ever time this season, French minnows Brest are experiencing a humbling campaign on the domestic scene, with Sunday’s visitors highly unlikely to make the continental scene once again in the 2025-26 campaign.
Since departing UEFA’s elite club competition at the hands of compatriots Paris Saint-Germain during the middle of February, Les Pirates have won just one of their last five matches across Ligue 1 and Coupe de France, suffering an embarrassing defeat in the latter competition against second-tier Dunkerque.
That being said, there were considerable signs of recovery from Brest just before the final international break of the campaign, with Eric Roy‘s troops earning four points from two matches versus Angers and Reims at Stade Francis-Le Ble, keeping shutouts in both contests.
A shining light during a mixed campaign for Les Pirates, French veteran Ludovic Ajorque is cherishing a loan spell back in his homeland from Bundesliga side Mainz, with the 31-year-old bagging 10 goals from 23 Ligue 1 appearances – doubling the strike tally of the next-closest teammate in the scoring charts.
Team News
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After scoring the opener against Strasbourg last time out, Toulouse talisman Magri picked up a suspension-inducing yellow card, meaning that he will be unable to feature on Sunday.
Les Violets’ attacking options are reduced further by the absence of leading marksman Zakaria Aboukhlal, who suffered a thigh injury in late February.
Brest are also battling with a number of suspensions, including that of Massadio Haidara and Hugo Magnetti, with the latter a key player in the middle of the park.
A number of Les Pirates stars are targeting returns to action in April, such as Ibrahim Salah (foot) and Brendan Chardonnet (illness).
Toulouse possible starting lineup:
Haug; Sidibe, Cresswell, McKenzie; Donnum, Casseres Jr, Sierro, Suazo; Babicka, Gboho; King
Brest possible starting lineup:
Bizot; Lala, Le Cardinal, N’Diaye, Amavi; Camara, Lees-Melou, Doumbia; Faivre, Pereira-Lage, Ajorque
We say: Toulouse 1-1 Brest
Sitting next to each other in the Ligue 1 standings, Toulouse and Brest are well-matched heading into this weekend’s clash at Stadium de Toulouse.
Without Magri and Aboukhlal, Les Violets could struggle to find the net, however we feel that they should be good enough for a share of the points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
