French club Toulouse welcome Austrian outfit LASK Linz to the Stadium de Toulouse for a Europa League group-stage clash on Thursday night.
The two teams were unable to win their opening Group E games two weeks ago, with Les Violets playing out a 1-1 draw with Union SG and the Black-Whites losing 3-1 at home to Liverpool.
Match preview
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Competing in European competition for the first time in 14 years, Toulouse were on course to claim maximum points in their opening Group E fixture at Union SG, as they entered the final half-hour a goal ahead courtesy of a first-half penalty from Thijs Dallinga.
However, Les Violets were forced to settle for a third successive draw in all competitions after substitute Mohamed Amoura rescued a point for the Belgian hosts with a 69th-minute equaliser.
Carles Martinez's side have since experienced mixed fortunes in Ligue 1, with a 2-1 defeat at Lens followed by a comfortable 3-0 home victory over Metz last weekend thanks to goals scored by Dallinga, Niklas Schmidt and Frank Magri.
Toulouse, who sit 11th in the Ligue 1 table after seven matches, are now seeking to claim back-to-back wins for the first time this season when they face Austrian opposition in the form of LASK Linz for the very first time in European competition.
The reigning Coupe de France champions are yet to lose on home soil this season, while they have only suffered defeat twice in their last 11 home matches in European competition, excluding qualifiers, which bodes well heading into Thursday's contest.
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Like Toulouse, LASK Linz were also leading their opening Group E fixture two weeks ago, with a 14th-minute strike from Florian Flecker putting the Austrian side into a surprise lead against Premier League giants Liverpool.
However, the Reds turned the game on its head after the break, with goals from attacking trio Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah ending the Black-Whites' seven-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
Thomas Sageder's men have since won one, drawn one and lost one of their last three domestic games, with a 3-0 Austrian Cup victory over lower-league side Imst sandwiched between a goalless draw with Hartberg and a 2-1 defeat at Wolfsberger last weekend, a result which has seen them slip seven points behind Austrian Bundesliga leaders Red Bull Salzburg.
LASK Linz will welcome a trip away from Austria on Thursday as they have won each of their last five matches on the road in the group stage of European competition, including two in the Europa League against Antwerp and Ludogorets.
Returning to winning ways is high on the agenda for the Black-Whites, as they will view Thursday's game against Toulouse as an important fixture in their quest to secure a top-two spot in Group E and reach the Europa League knockout rounds for the first time in four years.
Team News
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Toulouse defender Logan Costa is suspended after being sent off in the closing stages of the draw with Union SG, while Naatan Skytta (ankle), Oliver Zanden (hip), Zakaria Aboukhlal (knee) and Ibrahim Cissoko (foot) are all sidelined with injuries.
In the absence of Costa, Moussa Diarra is set to partner Rasmus Nicolaisen in central defence, joining Mikkel Desler and Gabriel Suazo in the back four.
Vincent Sierro is expected to return in centre-midfield at the expense of Stijn Spierings, while Schmidt, Aron Donnum and Cesar Gelabert could all provide support in attack for central striker Dallinga.
As for LASK Linz, Tobias Anselm, Yannis Letard and Adil Taoui all remain out with ACL injuries, and Lenny Pintor (muscle) is also sidelined, while Filip Stojkovic, Peter Michorl and Philipp Wiesinger are ineligible after being left out of the club's Europa League squad.
Roma loanee Ebrima Darboe has been struggling with fitness issues this term, but the midfielder came on as a half-time substitute against Wolfsberger last weekend and will look to get more minutes under his belt on Thursday.
Attacking trio Robert Zulj, Marin Ljubicic and Elias Havel have scored nine goals between them so far this season and they are expected to retain their places in the first XI against Toulouse.
Toulouse possible starting lineup:
Restes; Desler, Diarra, Nicolaisen, Suazo; Sierro, Casseres Jr; Donnum, Schmidt, Gelabert; Dallinga
LASK Linz possible starting lineup:
Lawal; Luckeneder, Ziereis, Andrade; Flecker, Jovicic, Horvath, Bello; Ljubicic, Zulj, Havel
We say: Toulouse 2-1 LASK Linz
A closely-fought contest between two evenly-matched teams could be in store on Thursday, but we believe that Toulouse will follow up last weekend's Ligue 1 win with another home triumph against LASK Linz to open their account in Group E.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
