October 5, 2024. 8:00 p.m. Villeneuve-d’Ascq. Pierre Mauroy Stadium.
French Championship. Round 7
Where to watch: RAINBOW
Injured: Gharaldsson, Ismaïli, Umtiti, Mukau, Mbappé – Aradzh, Vasbauer
After a sensational success in the Champions League midweek, Lille will look to improve their position in the league standings against Toulouse, who are hovering just above the relegation zone.
Lille
Lille experienced one of the best moments in the club’s history this past week. They defeated reigning champions Real Madrid in the Champions League. Andriy Lunin did everything he could to deny the French side, making several saves for the Madrid team, but he couldn’t stop David’s penalty – 1:0. After the match, fans celebrated not only the victory but also the 17th birthday of Ayub Bouaddi, whom Genesio bravely placed in the starting lineup. Consequently, Lille has revived their chances of reaching the knockout stage after a disappointing start with a 0:2 loss to Sporting.
In the league, Genesio’s team still needs to work on their chances of finishing in the Champions League zone for the second consecutive season. Currently, the Dogs sit fifth with 10 points. The season began with two solid 2:0 victories over Reims away and Angers at home. However, two subsequent losses against PSG (1:3) and Saint-Étienne (0:1) dampened their confidence. It could have been a third consecutive loss after conceding twice early on in a home game against Strasbourg, but David rescued them by converting a penalty – 3:3. The Canadian continued his scoring spree last weekend, netting a hat trick away at Le Havre – 3:0.
Now, the Dogs will aim to improve their home game statistics, having won only once in their last five attempts. Toulouse may not appear to be a formidable opponent, but two defeats to the Violets in their last six encounters will serve as a warning to the hosts about the dangers of underestimating their rivals.
Toulouse
Toulouse experienced a moment of triumph in European competition last season when they beat Liverpool at home. However, in the current campaign, the Violets have to focus solely on domestic competitions after finishing 11th in last season’s Ligue 1. Currently, Martinez’s side finds themselves even lower in the standings following a rather weak start to the season.
In six rounds, they have managed only one victory – a home win over Le Havre in mid-September. They also shared the spoils against Nantes at home (0:0) and Nice away (1:1), where Babika managed to equalize. However, they suffered defeats in the remaining matches, losing at home to Marseille and Lyon (1:3 and 1:2, respectively). In the first instance, they had no chances, having played with ten men from the middle of the first half with a score of 0:2. In the second match, Toulouse took the lead but ultimately let slip not just the victory but even a draw, conceding in stoppage time.
A defeat against Brest (0:2) in their previous away match ended a wonderful away run for Toulouse, during which they managed to win seven out of nine matches. However, this season they have yet to win away. Martinez’s team has obvious problems in attack, often creating more chances than their opponents but failing to convert them, suffering from the absence of Dalling, who left the club in the summer. Moreover, another defeat could extend their streak of failures to three matches, something that hasn’t happened to Toulouse in a year and a half.
Lille – Toulouse: Expected line-ups
Gharaldsson, Ismaïli, Umtiti, Mukau and Mbappé will miss the match due to injuries. Toulouse will be without Aradzh and Vasbauer.
Lille – Toulouse: Author’s Prediction
The fatigue following the match against Real Madrid should be compensated with a positive result, so I expect Lille, albeit perhaps not easily, to extend their winning streak across all competitions to three matches.
