Nantes vs Toulouse
France Ligue 1
Date: Saturday, 20th October 2018
Kick off at 19:00 UK/ 20:00 CET
Venue: Stade La Beaujoire (Nantes).
This is a massive game for both sides as we enter the middle stage of the season. Nantes have had a less than desirable start to the campaign and sit second from bottom while Toulouse find themselves in touching distance of the top four.
When you look at how well Toulouse are doing this season, it’s hard to imagine that they finished 18th last year and needed a relegation play-off win to keep them in the league. It really was a horrid nine months for them last season but now under the management of Alain Casanova, they have looked a much more formidable side.
They are currently 8th with three wins and four draws from their opening nine games. This high number of draws, the joint-highest amount in the league, will frustrate Toulouse as these dropped points are starting to add up but they will take solace in the fact that these draws have all been against teams of relative quality like Monaco, Rennes and Nice. They have faced some of the weaker teams in the league like Nimes and Guingamp but have done very well against them, Toulouse have been pretty professional in the way they have gone about things, very similar to the Violets side that Casanova managed in his first stint in charge of the club.
They have just come out of a pretty tough run of fixtures with the three aforementioned draws plus a stalemate against Angers and a loss to Saint-Etienne making up their last five games. They only picked up four points from a possible 15 here but they were tough matches and ones that they probably didn’t expect to even draw at the start of the season. Casanova’s side will be raring to go again in this one though as Nantes have been pretty horrible as of late and could be easy picking for the likes of Max Gradel.
Nantes finished a respectable 9th last season but have really fallen off the pace this year. Currently languishing just above rock bottom in Ligue 1, they haven’t won any of their last five and have only one victory to their name for the season. They have conceded eight goals in their last four, but these were pretty tough games against Lille, Nice, Lyon and Bordeaux so they could be excused. Manager Miguel Cardoso was fired just before the international break though and Vahid Halihodzic has been brought in to replace him making him Nantes’ fourth manager in just two years.
Halihodzic scored 93 goals for Nantes between 1981 and 1986 and has managed professionally for the last 28 years at clubs like PSG and Lille but also internationally in charge of Ivory Coast and most recently Japan. He has a very consistent record as a manager, but he will have quite the job on his hands here. Sometimes players can be given a boost by the appointment of a new manager though and you could see the Nantes team playing out of their skin to impress. His first game in charge didn’t have this effect though as they lost 3-0 to Bordeaux. This will be a tough game for Nantes and with their poor performances recently, we don’t see them bettering Toulouse.
Nantes have only won one of their last nine games conceding 16 along the way. They haven’t won any of their last four home games and with Toulouse unbeaten in their last three games away, we’re predicting a Violets win in this one, but they have only kept one clean sheet in their last six so we’re backing Nantes to get a goal here. We’re going to predict a 2-1 win for Toulouse as they shake off some of that international break rust.
Nantes vs Toulouse: Head to Head
Last season Nantes won this match 2-1.
Toulouse have not beaten Nantes at home since 2014.
3 of the last 4 meetings has seen both teams to score.
6 of the last 7 meetings has ended in under 2.5 goals.
Nantes vs Toulouse: Prediction
With a new manager and the fact they are playing at home against Toulouse we will back the home side to win.
This is a big game for Nantes because if they lose this then the new coach already has a mountain to climb.
But Toulouse have been poor in the last month or so and do not like coming to this ground.
It will be a very close game but we will back the home side and also back both teams to find a goal.
Nantes vs Toulouse Betting Tips
Nantes to beat Toulouse at 2.00 (1/1)
Both teams to score at 2.00 (1/1).