As the regular season in Europe’s top leagues has come to a close, it’s time for the all-important post-season play-offs. This applies in the Ligue 1 as AC Ajaccio are looking to push into the French top-flight as they face Toulouse who are attempting to avoid the drop. The relegation play-off is always an interesting one and the first-leg takes place on Wednesday.

STATS

• Ajaccio had a good season in Ligue 2 and secured a 3^rd place finish where they had to beat Le Havre to reach the final stage of the play-off process. It was an entertaining match, to say the least as Ajaccio had to rely on penalties to win after four players were sent off in extra-time! They also scored a 120^th-minute equaliser to force it to penalties as they had gone behind in the added 30 minute period.
• It was a particularly disappointing campaign for Toulouse as they slipped into the relegation play-off position out of nowhere. Three points on the final day weren’t enough to keep them up as Lille had already secured their safety. It was a run of four without a win in the build-up to the final that condemned Toulouse to their unfortunate fate.
• Ajaccio had a good season in front of goal and they have two joint top scorers as Ghislain Gimbert and Riad Nouri have both netted 13 league goals. The latter opened the scoring against Le Havre.
• Maxi Gradel holds that accolade for Toulouse as the former Leicester winger has eight goals. He is followed by ex-Arsenal forward, Yaya Sanogo, who has six.

HEAD TO HEAD

Basing Wednesday’s result purely off recent league meetings, it looks as though this could be extremely close. In the last ten fixtures between the two, both sides have four wins and two draws with most of them by similar or the same scorelines. The last couple have ended as stalemates while Toulouse’s last win at Stade François Coty (Ajaccio’s stadium) was back in 2013.

AC AJACCIO NEWS

A win in front of their home crowd would give them a good cushion for the second leg in pursuit of a return to Ligue 1 after a four-year absence. After their red cards against Le Havre, Mathieu Coutadeur and Joris Sainati will be suspended for the clash.

Latest matches: AC Ajaccio

20.05.2018	Ligu	AC Ajaccio	AC Havre	7:5	W
11.05.2018	Ligu	AC Ajaccio	Chamois Niort FC	2:2	D
04.05.2018	Ligu	AJ Auxerre	AC Ajaccio	1:1	D
27.04.2018	Ligu	AC Havre	AC Ajaccio	2:0	L
23.04.2018	Ligu	AC Ajaccio	RC Lens	2:0	W

TOULOUSE NEWS

Toulouse haven’t been in Ligue 2 for well over 10 years so relegation would be a sad sight, avoiding defeat in the first-leg is vital. Without any injuries, their confidence will be increased going into the match.

Latest matches: Toulouse FC

19.05.2018	Ligu	Toulouse FC	EA Guingamp	2:1	W
12.05.2018	Ligu	FC Girondins Bordeaux	Toulouse FC	4:2	L
06.05.2018	Ligu	Toulouse FC	Lille OSC	2:3	L
29.04.2018	Ligu	Stade Rennes	Toulouse FC	2:1	L
25.04.2018	Ligu	SM Caen	Toulouse FC	0:0	D

SUMMARY

With both sides experiencing differing form towards the end of the season, it’s such a tough game to call. Toulouse are the better side on paper but Ajaccio have the benefit of momentum. It looks like Ajaccio are favourites to take lead into the first-leg in front of their own fans but their suspensions could come back to haunt them.