Toulouse vs Union Saint-Gilloise Prediction: Dangerous Dallinga can send Les Violets delirious

Union Saint-Gilloise stand in the way of Toulouse on Thursday evening (20:00), as the French side look for the win which would secure safe passage into the Europa League knockout round play-offs.

Top spot and an automatic place in the round of 16 isn't entirely out of the question for the Ligue 1 outfit after a stunning 3-2 win over Liverpool last time out, but any qualification will rank as a success for a club that was in the French second tier just over two years ago.

Union Saint-Gilloise, meanwhile, can draw level on points with their hosts if they pick up their first away victory of the group, and three points would actually lift them into second courtesy of a superior head-to-head record with Les Violets.

Team News

Toulouse went down valiantly to Ligue 1 leaders Nice on Sunday, losing 1-0, and they did so without the talismanic figure of Thijs Dallinga, who was suspended. The forward will return for this one though, and he could be joined in the starting XI by Niklas Schmidt, who also missed their defeat at the Allianz Riviera.

Morocco international Zakaria Aboukhal remains injured, however.

Elton Kabangu appears to be the only absentee for the visitors.

Match Odds

Toulouse are 6/5 to make it three out of three wins at home in the Europa League, while a draw - which would present Union Saint-Gilloise with a first away point of the group - is priced at 5/2. The Belgians are 21/10 to take the victory themselves.

Both teams to score is 4/7 and over 2.5 goals is 4/6.

Toulouse to win and under 3.5 goals @ 21/10

The French side have been involved in a couple of high-scoring games with Liverpool but their two other matches were much more low-key affairs, with a 1-1 draw in Belgium followed up with a 1-0 win over LASK at home. USG, meanwhile, have seen under 3.5 goals in all four group games so far.

After beating Liverpool at home I expect Toulouse to follow that up with a victory here to guarantee a top-two finish. That game against the Premier League giants showed just how strong they are at Stadium de Toulouse, where they have lost just once in seven games this season.

USG have lost both of their away games in the group without scoring and are yet to prove that they are deserving of progression.

Thijs Dallinga to score anytime @ 7/5

The Dutch striker is top scorer for Toulouse in both Ligue 1 and the Europa League, and he has scored in three of their four matches in the latter competition. The only game he didn't - the 1-0 win over LASK - the 23-year-old provided an assist.

Dallinga has scored five goals in his last six club games, including in each of the last three. His first of the season actually came in the reverse fixture in Brussels, when his penalty opened the scoring.

Toulouse have scored 19 goals this season, and with Dallinga responsible for seven of them, the Netherlands international looks the likeliest to net on Thursday.

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