TOULON (FRANCE) - Pressure on Toulon coach Diego Dominguez is set to increase as his side host in-form Top 14 leaders Clermont at the weekend.
Toulon's Anthony Etrillard (C) grimaces during the French Top 14 match against Racing 92 at Yves du Manoir Stadium in Colombes on September 18, 2016
Clermont come into the game on the back of two impressive victories, having dispatched Racing 92 (47-10) and latterly Bordeaux-Begles (40-16), and the league leaders sit on 18 points after five rounds, the only unbeaten side in the league.
Toulon lie eighth, however, the three-time former European champions having notched up wins in just two of their opening matches.
Shorn of a raft of senior players because of international duty and injury, Dominguez's side has looked distinctly average, compounded by a 41-30 defeat by Racing last weekend that was far more comprehensive than the scoreline suggests.
Dominguez, the Argentina-born former Italy fly-half who became a figurehead for Stade Francais, this week received the dreaded vote of confidence from Toulon owner Mourad Boudjellal.
"You need to stop fantasising about the sacking of Diego Dominguez," Boudjellal said of his coach who was always going to be facing an uphill struggle taking over from Bernard Laporte.
"Diego Dominguez is not a target today," he said, adding: "If we lose 95-0, that reopens the debate, but that's the case for every coach."
Clermont's last victory at Toulon's Stade Mayol dates back to a 17-0 win in 2011, and Jaunards coach Franck Azema insisted his team knew what to expect.
"We know where we're going," he said. "A disappointed public awaits...
"We're preparing accordingly, to go to Mayol with the intention of showing the same regularity and character that the squad has shown since the start of the season.
"We'll have the same demands on ourselves and we must, beyond the result, use these three big upcoming games (Toulon, Castres and Toulouse) to go into the European Champions Cup with a maximum level of certainty and confidence."
Azema added: "It's out of the question that we go into this match the least bit laid back.
"Toulon remain Toulon. They might have been slow getting going but I'm not worried for them. Once they're up and running, they'll be formidable."
Clermont will be without John Ulugia, as the Australian hooker has ruptured knee ligaments and expected to be out for three months.
Second-placed La Rochelle host newly-promoted Bayonne on Saturday, their 15,000-seater stadium sold out for a 10th consecutive match.
Third-placed Montpellier entertain Brive, who are a place below them in the table, on Sunday.
Defending champions Racing, in fifth, travel to Castres, in sixth, in Saturday's early game, while Bordeaux-Begles take on Lyon and Toulouse host Stade Francais.
Fixtures (all times GMT)
Saturday
Castres v Racing 92 (1245), Grenoble v Pau, La Rochelle v Bayonne, Bordeaux-Begles v Lyon (all 1630), Toulouse v Stade Francais (1845)
Sunday
Montpellier v Brive (1030), Toulon v Clermont (1415)