Toulouse vs Olympique Lyon. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats, and more

Toulouse FC will host Olympique Lyon in the Ligue 1 26th round match at the Toulouse Stadium. The fixture will take place on Saturday, March 16, beginning at 01:30 IST.

Parimatch News will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.

Toulouse News & Current Form: 

In the 23/24 campaign Toulouse were putting high hopes and energy on the UEFA Europa League quest, and eventually it played a cruel joke on them as in the 1/16th final they were crushed by SL Benfica with a score of 2:1 after two meetings. Meanwhile, things are not going well for the team in the domestic championship. 

After 25 rounds, the boys of Carles Martinez are 11th in the Ligue 1 table with 29 points, which is not a bad result considering the major changes the club underwent before the start of the season. This season they do not have the strongest squad, a group of leading players left the club in the summer, but in general the head coach is doing a great job to keep the place in Ligue 1. 

Toulouse play with mixed success and are very inconsistent. In the previous match, they lost on the road to one of the outsiders of the French championship Le Havre AC with the score 0:1, thus breaking their four-match winless streak in all competitions. The game was equal and not the most attractive throughout the meeting, everyone was waiting for a goal, but the opponent managed to do it.

Thijs Dallinga – top scorer of Toulouse FC

They have lost five of their last six home matches against the visitors, conceding 14 goals in the process, and will be looking to improve on that record. Prior to that, the team had won two games in a row. The first was a 3:1 win over LOSC Lille on their home turf, followed by a 2:1 victory over OGC Nice.

Rasmus Nicolaisen was injured in the fixture against Le Havre and was substituted in the 54th minute. He was the latest name on the growing list of absentees for coach Martinez, who will also be without Niklas Schmidt for personal reasons.

Toulouse could be without Zakaria Aboukhlal, who suffered a knee injury, and Denis Genreau, who picked up a groin injury. Mikkel Desler and Moussa Diarra missed the last game and are not expected to return from calf injuries until the end of March at the earliest.

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Olympique Lyon News & Current Form: 

Lyon have undergone a transformation since the appointment of Pierre Sage as head coach. Les Gones have won four of their last five games and have improved their position in the standings, sitting in 10th place with nine wins, four draws and 12 defeats. 

At the beginning of the season, the club was also one of the main contenders for relegation, but they managed to take control of the situation. In recent rounds the team made a powerful breakthrough upstairs and now even claim to get into the European Cup next season, now the gap is 9 points. 

Top scorer of Olympique Lyon –  Alexandre Lacazette

Les Gones have won five of their last six league games and have won three in a row away from home in Ligue 1. They have won five of their last six meetings at home, scoring 17 goals in the process.

In the previous game, Pierre Sage’s wards defeated FC Lorient with a score of 2:0. The goals in that meeting were scored by Nicolas Tagliafico and Mama Balde, for whom this goal was the first in the club. Prior to that Lyon lost to Lille (0:3) on their field, but there the adjustments were made by an early penalty, then were beaten away by FC Metz with a score of 2:1.

Said Benrahma suffered a thigh injury last week and is expected to rest, while Johann Lepenant will miss this game due to a knee ligament strain. Ernest Nuamah faces a late fitness test, while Orel Mangala is expected to return to the starting lineup. Alexandre Lacazette has returned to full training and should be in the starting lineup.

Toulouse form guide: L-W-D-W-W-L

Olympique Lyon form guide: W-W-W-W-L-W

Toulouse vs Olympique Lyon Head-To-Head Record:

• October 7, 2022: Lyon 1 – 1 Toulouse (Ligue 1);
• April 14, 2023: Toulouse 1 – 2 Lyon (Ligue 1);
• December 10, 2023: Lyon 3 – 0 Toulouse (Ligue 1).

Toulouse vs Olympique Lyon Predicted XI:

Toulouse’s possible starting lineup (3-4-2-1): Restes; Mawissa, Costa, Keben; Kamanzi, Spierings, Sierro, Suazo; Magri, Gboho; Dallinga.

Olympique Lyon’s possible starting lineup (4-3-3): Lopes; Mata, O’Brien, Caleta-Car, Tagliafico; Caqueret, Diawara, Tolisso; Fofana, Balde, Benrahma.

Statistical preview of the match Toulouse vs Olympique Lyon:

• Toulouse’s First XI average age is 24.4 years, Olympique’s First XI average age is 27.9 years.
• The total value of hosts’ squad is 85 mln euros, while the total of visitors comes up to 236 mln euros.
• Jeremy Stinat has been appointed as the center referee. The referee has already served 12 games this season, showing an average of 3.5 Yellow Cards and also whistles 24 fouls per game. 
• Over the past three years, the rivals have met each other three times: in two matches Lyon won, in one case a draw was recorded.
• In the current Ligue 1 draw, Toulouse have not lost in eight of 12 home matches (67%).
• Lyon have scored at least one goal in eight of their 12 away matches in Ligue 1 (67%).
• Eight of Lyon’s 12 away matches have seen a draw in the first half (67%).
• In the current Ligue 1 season, Toulouse are scoring an average of 1.33 goals per game at home, conceding 1.25 goals per game. Lyon’s average performance in away matches is exactly 1 goal scored and 1.33 conceded. 
• In the last four games in a row Toulouse began to improve their indicator, serving no less than six kicks from the corner of the field in one meeting, Lyon, playing away, allows opponents to earn an average of 4.67 corners on average
• In home matches, Toulouse are earning an average of 3.92 yellow cards, while Lyon’s away games are averaging 2.92. 

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What has been said before the match:

Gaffer of Lyon Pierre Sage about his team’s last game against Lorient, which ended with a victory:

“This match will be different from the match against Lorient because Toulouse are a team even more oriented towards the vertical game. They have changed their style of play and are getting quite good results. It’s up to us to manage this aspect well. We will try to replicate the same approach as in Lorient to prevent them from becoming unleashed.”

“We were eager to bounce back, we controlled the match from start to finish. We had agreed before the game that the collective was more important than individualities. Offensively, we were effective. We knew we would have opportunities on the counter-attack after opening the score. We took advantage of that. We still need to take 4 more points, but maybe more will be required.”

Right-back of Olympique Lyon Clinton Mata says last match was one of best ones for his team in the season:

“I think it was a complete match for us. We tried to follow the coach’s instructions. There were other matches where we performed well, but tonight we were very solid for the full 90 minutes. Upfront, the attackers put pressure to block their passes . It’s one of our best matches since the beginning of the season. I’m very happy to contribute to this victory.”

Toulouse vs Olympique Lyon Prediction:

Despite the fact that Toulouse have produced a rather impressive stretch of beating 3 top-6 opponents in the last 5 Ligue 1 matches, they still haven’t guaranteed themselves a comfortable finish to the season. At the moment, Carles Martinez’s side are only four points ahead of the relegation zone. The Violets need to keep gaining points to feel safe, and this match represents a chance to leave behind their main rival at the equator of the table. 

Lyon are feeling more confident ahead of their trip to the South of France, with the Red and Blues showing a much more organized and consistent performance in the second part of the season, and the almost threefold difference in squad values speaks for itself about the superiority in class. At the moment Pierre Sage’s team is six points away from the group of outsiders, the difference with Toulouse is 2 points. 

As for the statistical metrics, in the last 5 away matches Lyon have scored an average of 1.8 goals, conceding 1.2. Toulouse have scored an average of 1.2 at home and allowed exactly the same number of goals per 90 minutes. 7 of the last 10 meetings of Le Téfécé saw both teams scoring, while the Rhodaniens had the same scenario in 5 cases in the same stretch considering all tournaments, in 8 of those encounters OL managed to score at least once. It is important to take into account that Lyon have won 5 of their last 6 matches in Toulouse. In each of these matches, the teams exchanged goals and the total exceeded 2.5.

We expect a close game between two attack-orientated teams, where Lyon will not feel the pressure of the opponent’s fans and will have a slight advantage due to their more stable form and the higher level of individual skill of their performers.

Parimatch News staff prediction:

We say: Olympique Lyon will not lose with an individual total over 0.5 – Yes.

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