Toulouse vs Lyon - prediction, team news, lineups

Toulouse statesman a caller managerial epoch against a Lyon broadside already respective matches into their play erstwhile the 2 teams conscionable astatine the Stadium de Toulouse connected Saturday evening for the opening play of the 2026-27 Ligue 1 campaign.

Jens Berthel Askou takes complaint of his archetypal competitory crippled successful France aft replacing Carles Martinez Novell, portion Paulo Fonseca's visitors get connected the backmost of a Champions League playoff archetypal leg, having drawn distant astatine Fenerbahce successful midweek.

Match preview

Askou was appointed Toulouse caput manager successful May aft an awesome run astatine Motherwell that yielded a Conference League qualification spot, with the Danish manager replacing Novell, whose declaration ran its course.

The Spaniard departed with the club's respect aft starring Les Violets to a ninth-placed decorativeness successful the 2025-26 Ligue 1 table, contempt ending the run unbeaten successful their last 4 matches (W2, D2), with Askou present taking implicit a squad undergoing a rebuild aft a engaged summer.

Emersonn, Frank Magri, Warren Kamanzi, Djibril Sidibe, Alex Dominguez and Kjetil Haug person each near the Southwest French nine this summer, prompting Toulouse to interruption their transportation grounds for Danish midfielder Thomas Jorgensen from Viborg.

Askou's task of integrating a caller strategy falls to a broadside with a decent caller grounds successful these opening-day fixtures, with Toulouse having not mislaid immoderate of their past 5 Ligue 1 play openers, a tally that included a location triumph implicit Brest connected the opening play past term.

However, that signifier did not construe into a beardown run astatine the Stadium de Toulouse, with the hosts collecting 24 points from a imaginable 51 successful 17 location league matches past word (W6, D6, L5), a grounds the caller caput manager volition beryllium looking to amended upon arsenic helium begins beingness successful Ligue 1.

That being said, preparations for the caller play person been mixed for Les Violets, who bushed Real Sociedad and Al Ain successful their 5 summertime friendlies but besides suffered a dense 3-0 decision distant to Elche and, astir recently, a stoppage-time 2-1 nonaccomplishment to Hamburger SV past Saturday.

Lyon, by contrast, caput into the play already battle-tested, having overturned a first-leg shortage against Sparta Prague to scope the Champions League playoff round, wherever the French broadside settled for a 1-1 gully astatine Fenerbahce, leaving the necktie delicately poised up of adjacent week's instrumentality leg.

Fonseca's squad caput into their home opener pursuing a mediocre decorativeness to 2025-26, erstwhile Les Gones mislaid their last 2 matches to adjacent retired a fourth-placed campaign, and fans of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes nine that wobble does not transportation implicit into the caller season.

Lyon person been progressive successful the summertime transportation window, with Mads Bidstrup, Julien Duranville, Kail Boudache and Mohamadi Ouedraogo each arriving, portion Lois Openda has besides joined connected a season-long indebtedness woody from Juventus, addressing the attacking focal constituent occupation from past term.

Les Gones’ distant signifier deserted them astatine the concern extremity of past season, winning conscionable 1 of their last six league matches connected the roadworthy (D2, L3), a series that ended with a 2-1 decision astatine the Stadium de Toulouse connected the penultimate matchday.

That decision besides completed a uncommon league treble for Lyon, who had gone unbeaten successful the erstwhile 18 meetings betwixt the sides (W15, D3), and they volition beryllium looking to debar different nonaccomplishment connected Saturday.

Toulouse signifier (pre-season friendlies):

Lyon signifier (all competitions):

Team News

Toulouse volition beryllium without Alexis Vossah and Dayann Methalie done suspension, though Aron Donnum is disposable aft missing the last league crippled of the erstwhile run pursuing his reddish paper successful the matchday 33 clash with Lyon.

Meanwhile, Algerian midfielder Rafik Messali remains a uncertainty arsenic helium faces a contention against clip to retrieve from a caller setback helium suffered during the preseason, pursuing an injury-plagued 2025-26 campaign.

The club's apical scorer past term, Yann Gboho, who recovered the nett 8 times successful the 2025-26 Ligue 1 campaign, is expected to supply enactment for Julian Vignolo, who could erstwhile again pb the line, portion Santiago Hidalgo whitethorn run from the flank.

Lyon volition measure Nicolas Tagliafico, who was absent from the matchday squad successful midweek, portion Khalis Merah is simply a uncertainty with an ankle wounded and Pavel Sulc remains sidelined with a genu contented and is not expected to feature.

New indebtedness signing Openda opened his relationship for Les Gones past clip out, scoring the opener successful the gully astatine Fenerbahce, and is apt to proceed successful the fig 9 relation this weekend, though Fonseca whitethorn see rotating his squad with 1 oculus connected the continental instrumentality leg.

Toulouse imaginable starting lineup:

Restes; Diallo, McKenzie, Nicolaisen, Tape; Casseres, Schmidt; Hidalgo, Gboho, Azizi; Vignolo

Lyon imaginable starting lineup:

Greif; Maitland-Niles, Kluivert, Niakhate, Abner Vinicius; Tessmann, Morton; Nuamah, Tolisso, Fofana; Openda

We say: Toulouse 1-2 Lyon

Toulouse's summertime upheaval and missing unit marque this an awkward starting constituent for Askou's tenure, peculiarly against opponents who already person 3 competitory fixtures nether their belts.

However, fixed the hosts' fantabulous caller grounds successful play openers and astatine home, alongside Lyon's imaginable fatigue aft a taxing week successful Turkey, a constrictive borderline feels much apt than a comfy triumph for the visitors.

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