Toulouse vs Stade Reims preview - Toulouse aim to turn around form

Posted Saturday, January 31, 2015 by PA

Toulouse boss Alain Casanova has issued a rallying cry as his side look to end a six-game winless run and edge away from the drop zone against Reims on Saturday.

Since the start of December Les Pitchouns have lost four out of six league matches and slumped from 11th to 17th in Ligue 1, with them only a point clear of Caen in 18th.

Casanova knows his side need to arrest that slide quickly if they are to avoid becoming embroiled in a battle for survival and he wants the fans to help them.

"Today everyone is aware of the urgency of the current situation of the club," he told a press conference. "It will need more than ever the support of all our fans for the club to get out of this situation."

Reims, meanwhile, travel to the Stadium Municipal in the relative comfort of mid-table, although they have gone three league games without a win themselves.

Coach Jean-Luc Vasseur acknowledged that their season could go either way at this point, but he feels they are primed to bounce back after drawing with Lens following disappointing defeats to St Etienne and Caen.

"We can look back, we can look forward too," he told Reim's website. "Now, I think we would have been able to reverse poor performances against St Etienne and Caen. I think the players are doing quite well."

The fixture also sees Antoine Devaux facing off against his old club, having swapped Toulouse for Reims in 2012, and he admits he is surprised to see Les Pitchouns struggling.

"From the outside it is amazing to see Toulouse in such a situation," he told Toulouse's official website.

"They were not so bad at the start of the season...now things are a little worse and this is clearly visible in their performances. It was a similar problem here in Reims, no outright goalscorer, and it can quickly become difficult. But to see them so low, it's true that's surprising."