Toulouse vs Nantes Prediction: Under 2.5 goals or a win for the away team

Relegation-threatened Nantes will play Toulouse on Sunday afternoon at the Stadium Municipal under interim manager Pierre Aristouy after Antoine Kombouare was fired. With four games remaining, the visitors are two points above the Ligue 1 drop zone, while the home team is 10 points above Nantes and the bottom four.

The two teams will re-meet at Toulouse's Stadium de Toulouse a fortnight after Toulouse's 5-1 hammering of Nantes in the Coupe de France final, with the hosts aiming for a repetition of last month's destruction. Toulouse recent home struggle of three straight defeats without a goal may give Nantes some optimism going into the matchup on Sunday.

Nantes, on the other hand, lost against Strasbourg at home. Thus they were once again left empty-handed. Since the victory over Olympique Lyon in April, La Maison has lost four straight games and has gone winless in six games. With 32 points after 34 games, Nantes is in the bottom half of the rankings, two points below Auxerre in 16th place and just above the relegation zone.

Due to the struggles of both teams, we anticipate a low-scoring game but a win for Nantes. 

Toulouse has suffered five straight home losses going into the weekend. At the Stade Francois Coty on Sunday, Ajaccio held Toulouse to a scoreless draw, preventing Toulouse from getting back on the winning track. Prior to that, Toulouse lost to Lens at home, snapping a two-game winning streak. Toulouse has 42 points after 34 games, placing them 13th in Ligue 1.

Toulouse's previous match ended in a tie as relegation-threatened Ajaccio held Toulouse to a scoreless draw, despite the visitors having the majority of possession and taking 15 shots. Toulouse will naturally want to get back to winning ways and finish the season strong, but after five straight league losses at Stadium de Toulouse, they may find it difficult to get all three points this weekend.

Toulouse had not recently shared the spoils due to a run of 11 victories and 8 losses across all competitions, so last weekend's stalemate came as a bit of a surprise to Montanier and his team.

Toulouse striker, Rhys Healey, is still out for Toulouse because he is currently recovering from an ACL tear. Dallinga will thus continue to be the team's leading scorer. The midfield will be held together by Branco van den Boomen and Stijn Spierings, allowing Fares Chaibi, Brecht Dejaegere, and Zakaria Aboukhlal to advance and assist Dallinga in the attack.

Toulouse's possible starting lineup:

Goalkeeper: Dupe

Defenders: Desler, Rouault, Nicolaisen, Suazo

Midfielders: Spierings, Van den Boomen, Aboukhlal, Dejaegere, Chaibi

Striker: Dallinga

After Antoine Kombouare was fired on Tuesday, Nantes will now rely on interim manager Pierre Aristouy to maintain the team in the division. Given that the Canaries had not won any of their previous 11 league games, suffering four draws and seven losses in the process, it is fair to conclude that Kombouare may have very few complaints about the decision to release him.

Kombouare managed just six victories in 34 Ligue 1 games this season, and his team's loss to relegation-threatened Strasbourg last weekend was the icing on the cake. With Ajaccio and Troyes on the verge of joining already-relegated Angers in Ligue 2 next season, Nantes must now compete against Auxerre, Brest, and Strasbourg to avoid the drop.

While Nantes has lost four of their previous five away games and has lost five straight at home, Toulouse has lost five straight at home. Recent losses to Auxerre and Brest have dropped the Canaries into the bottom four.

Moussa Sissoko, an experienced midfielder, missed last weekend's loss to Brest due to a muscle ailment, thus Nantes will likely be without him on Sunday. The health of Spanish midfielder Pedro Chirivella, who has been out since early April because of a hernia problem, is also in doubt. The wing-back positions will be filled by Fabien Centonze and Quentin Merlin if Pierre Aristouy decides to stay with Nantes' well-known 3-4-1-2 system, with Ludovic Blas assisting Mostafa Mohamed and Ignatius Ganago up front.

Nantes' possible starting lineup:

Goalkeeper: Laftont

Defenders: Victor, Castelletto, Pallois

Midfielders: Centonze, Girotto, Moutoussamy, Merlin

Strikers: Blas; Mohamed, Ganago

Nantes has a small advantage in the matchup with 11 victories in the last 31 games. In that time, Toulouse has recorded two fewer victories while there have been 11 times when the winnings have been divided. 

In six of their previous seven trips to the Municipal Stadium, Nantes has won, going undefeated. This stretch dates back to April 2009. Since a 2-1 victory against Stade Rennais in February, Toulouse has lost their previous five league home games, scoring just three goals while giving up nine.

In this fixture, we expect a low-scoring game with a potential scoreline of 0-1 or 0-2.