Preview: Toulouse vs. Lorient

By: Dave Trotter | October 2nd, 2009

gignac shoulder This week has been a hard one for both Le Tef and their supporters. Last Sunday, they where up 1-0 and playing a dominate game against a strong Lyon side. But in the second half, Toulouse saw the lead slip away and suffered a 2-1 loss.

On Wednesday, Toulouse FC received some more bad news, learning of the death of Le Tef supporter Brice Taton in Belgrade. His death is being investigated and the European and International communities are commemorating his life…some going as far as honoring him with a day of rememberence.

On Thursday, Toulouse looked to be heading to their second win in Europa League competition, leading 2-1 going into stoppage time. But in the last minutes of the game, Belgian side FC Burges scored the equalizer, leaving Toulouse with one point.

With the team dedicating this weekend’s game to Brice, Toulouse will be taking on a Lorient team that has looked impressive this year. Toulouse is currently lying in 11th place in the Ligue 1 table, and a win against Lorient will at least help them jump another spot.

Even though Andre-Pierre Gignac has been shut down this year, fellow French international Moussa Sissoko has been able to make up for Gignac’s lack of scoring with three goals this season. Both Gignac and Sissoko have scored in Thursday’s game against FC Burges.

Toulouse has suffered a number of injuries this year as well. Team captain Mauro Cetto is still sidelined with a broken collarbone. In addition to Cetto’s injury, Etienne Didot, Daniel Braaten, Albin Ebondo and Antoine Devaux were also missing from the line up against FC Burges.

Lorient will be looking to get back on track with their away form. Before their last home game, barely squeaking past Ligue 1’s worse team Grenoble, Lorient had lost away to Lyon and Monaco. This is a match where they feel that they can make up some points.

“We are heading to Toulouse trying to win back a few points that we dropped to PSG last weekend,” said Lorient midfielder Arnold Mvuemba. Even with the optimism of gaining three points at the Stadium Municipal, they will be dealing with a crowd that will not only be cheering on Le Tef, but also honoring the life of Brice Taton. The stands are expected to be filled in Toulouse, and that might make it harder for Lorient.

Both teams have had trouble scoring goals compared to other Ligue 1 counterparts, but hopefully that will chance in Sunday’s game. But one change that might be happening for Toulouse is the addition of Etienne Capoue to the defensive line. Being a natural midfielder, Capoue was moved to the central defense spot after the Toulouse back line suffered a number of injuries. Similar to Jeremy Toulalan’s move to defense for Lyon, Capoue has looked quite impressive in the two game that he has played in that position. And with a strong midfield already, don’t be surprised if Capoue makes a permanent move to defense.

Toulouse’s form hasn’t been the greatest in the last few games. In addition to their loss at Lyon last week, Le Tef lost a game to Valencienne at home. In addition, they drew against Lille and Nancy, two underachieving teams that Toulouse could have possibly beaten.

This game should determine if Toulouse is a team that can challenge for a Europa League spot again, or if they continue to fall, even with the talented squad that they have.