Troyes vs Toulouse
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Barring a win against an almost unrecognisable OGC Nice side, Troyes are without victory this season. It seems to have slipped by unnoticed that they’re failing to win home games that they should be winning. For example, hosting Stade Rennais and Nantes Atlantique has to be viewed as a minimum of four points from a possible six. Instead, they got just one. I think they’re going to find Ligue 1 really tough, Troyes.
They’re natural fighters so they’ll keep going for a while yet. It’s just that they’ve not done enough in the transfer window to survive, in my opinion. I do like that they’ve brought in South Korean forward Suk because he’s a clever finisher, and Troyes need someone like that. There are too many holes in this team for a solitary signature to solve, however. Their work-rate should ensure that they trouble most teams this season, at least in their home games, but their lack of quality should leave them with a disappointing end to the season.
I like what Toulouse have done in the transfer window. Experienced boss Dupraz knows precisely what his team needs to survive, and they’ve looked really good because of that undeniable fact. They’ve lost their two away games in Ligue 1 this season because they’ve faced AS Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain respectively, and they’ve scored two goals per game so I don’t think they should be portrayed as negatively as they have been.
Losing Braithwaite up front was always going to be a big deal. I don’t think he was overly clinical but he was fast and astute so Toulouse were going to have to pull a rabbit out of the hat to replace him. Fortunately, they’ve managed to do so! No, not Sanogo, although he will do a job for them. I’m talking about Gradel, who knows this division well by now. He’s not a striker but he’s an attacker and his pace will replace Braithwaite’s well. What he lacks in finesse he makes up for in trickery. With him and Durmaz either side of Toivonen, Delort, Jean etc. I can see Toulouse causing a lot of teams problems this season, although it has to be noted that Gradel picked up an injury whilst on international duty with Ivory Coast so he will not feature today.
I like that they added Imbula to their midfield – he should bring them everything that departed Doumbia would have done, although hopefully minus the injury problems. They’ve got a pretty solid defence, too – Diop, Moubandje, Jullien, and Adou in front of Lafont is surprisingly good for an average Ligue 1 team. They’ve got some youngsters in there so there may be the odd mistake but with an experienced boss like Dupraz at the helm, I have no doubts over their long-term pedigree. Bluntly put, I like the balance of this squad a lot.
Their results haven’t been as flattering as they could have been but I think Toulouse have played well in all of their games this season. By contrast, Troyes have been quite disappointing, and I struggle to accept that they can beat an experienced and organised Toulouse team here. I fancy the visitors to edge this one.
Verdict: Toulouse to win with draw no bet at 4/5.
Saturday’s Thoughts
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts to prevent endless questions about my thoughts on certain games. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
Argentinian Superliga:
Belgrano de Cordoba vs San Martin de San Juan
Estudiantes de la Plata vs Defensa y Justicia
Patronato vs Argentinos Juniors
Racing Club Avellaneda vs Temperley
Austrian Bundesliga:
LASK Linz vs Sturm Graz
Austria Vienna vs Wolfsberger AC
SV Mattersburg vs Admira Wacker
St.Polten vs SCR Altach
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Royal Excel Mouscron vs Club Brugge
Antwerp vs Sint-Truiden
Waasland-Beveren vs AS Eupen
Zulte-Waregem vs Kortrijk
Brazilian Serie A:
Atletico Mineiro vs Palmeiras
Sao Paulo vs Ponte Preta
Bulgarian A PFG:
Pirin Blagoevgrad vs Lokomotiv Plovdiv
Slavia Sofia vs Ludogorets Razgrad
Croatian Prva Liga:
Rijeka vs Cibalia Vinkovci
NK Osijek vs Hajduk Split
Czech Republic Synot Liga:
Slovan Liberec vs Viktoria Plzen
Banik Ostrava vs Baumit Jablonec
Zlin vs Teplice
Bohemians 1905 vs Slovacko
Sigma Olomouc vs Slavia Prague
Danish Superligaen:
AGF Aarhus vs Randers
English Premier League:
Manchester City vs Liverpool
Arsenal vs Bournemouth
Brighton & Hove Albion vs West Bromwich Albion
Everton vs Tottenham Hotspur
Leicester City vs Chelsea
Southampton vs Watford
Stoke City vs Manchester United
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Sillamae Kalev vs Trans Narva
FCI Tallinn vs Flora Tallinn
Finnish Ykkonen:
FC Honka Espoo vs Ekenas IF
KPV Kokkola vs Jaro Pietarsaari
French Ligue 1:
OGC Nice vs AS Monaco
Stade Malherbe de Caen vs Dijon FCO
Montpellier HSC vs Nantes Atlantique
Strasbourg vs Amiens SC
Troyes vs Toulouse
German Bundesliga:
SC Freiburg vs Bv09 Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Moenchengladbach vs Eintracht Frankfurt
Augsburg vs Koln
Mainz 05 vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
VfL Wolfsburg vs Hannover 96
Hoffenheim vs Bayern Munich
Hungarian OTP Bank Liga:
Ferencvaros vs Vasas Budapest
Debreceni VSC vs Diosgyori VTK
Mezokovesd-Zsory vs Balmazujvaros-Sport
Ujpest vs Puskas FC
Icelandic Urvalsdeild:
KR Reykjavik vs IBV Vestmannaeyjar
Vikingur Olafsvik vs Fjolnir Reykjavik
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Bnei Sakhnin
Hapoel Haifa vs Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv
MS Ashdod vs Ironi Kiryat Shmona
Hapoel Be’er Sheva vs Hapoel Ashkelon
Italian Serie A:
Juventus vs Chievo Verona
Lithuanian Cup:
Stumbras vs Vilniaus Vilnius
Suduva Marijampole vs Zalgiris Vilnius
Dutch Eredivisie:
Willem II vs ADO Den Haag
Heracles Almelo vs Feyenoord Rotterdam
AFC Ajax Amsterdam vs PEC Zwolle
Excelsior Rotterdam vs Vitesse Arnhem
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Brann Bergen vs Sogndal
Portuguese Liga Sagres:
Tondela vs Pacos de Ferreira
Maritimo Funchal vs Rio Ave
FC Porto vs Chaves
Portuguese Segunda Liga:
UD Oliveirense vs FC Porto II
Vitoria Guimaraes II vs Academica de Coimbra
Santa Clara vs Uniao Madeira
Russian Premier League:
Tosno vs Anzhi Makhachkala
FK Rostov vs Arsenal Tula
Spartak Moscow vs Rubin Kazan’
Spanish Primera Liga:
Real Madrid vs Levante
Valencia CF vs Atletico Madrid
Sevilla CF vs Eibar
Barcelona CF vs RCD Espanyol
Swiss Super League:
FC Basel vs Lausanne Sport
FC Zurich vs St.Gallen
Swiss Challenge League:
Vaduz vs Rapperswil-Jona
Winterthur vs Chiasso
Turkish Super Lig:
Sivasspor vs Kayserispor
Karabukspor vs Besiktas JK
Fenerbahce vs Istanbul BB
Konyaspor vs Alanyaspor
Enjoy your free betting tips!