Toulouse defender Cheikh M'Bengue has urged his side to put their Europa League disappointment firmly behind them as they look to continue their surge up the Ligue 1 table against Rennes on Sunday.

Defeat at home to Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday has left Toulouse facing an uphill struggle to qualify for the knockout stages.

Domestically they are in good form and, following victories against Paris St Germain and Lens, last weekend's impressive point at Marseille lifted them to 12th in the standings.

Toulouse are only a point behind Sunday's opponents and M'Bengue has labelled the clash as a must-win match.

"We have to forget about Thursday quickly," he told the club's official website. "Because the Rennes match is coming up fairly quickly.

"Nevertheless, we remain very disappointed by the game against Shakhtar.

"We have to win this match (against Rennes). That will allow us to continue on our run.

"We had a good game against Marseille, we beat Lens and PSG... it would be good to win at home against Lens to put ourselves in the top half of the table.

"We would be well placed before the international break."

Captain Mauro Cetto, Franck Tabanou, Mohamed Fofana, Fode Mansare, Jean-Joel Perrier-Doumbe and Antoine Devaux all missed out in midweek and it is unlikely any of those will recover in time.

Rennes will also be looking to bounce back after a hefty 3-0 defeat at home to Valenciennes last time out.

Coach Frederic Antonetti is fully aware of how tough it will be but is confident his players are up to the challenge.

"I have a group who react well and really want to move forwards," he said. "We need to know to use setbacks to bounce back better.

"We are going to Toulouse against a team who finished fourth last year. It will be difficult. We will have to stand up and be counted in the match and in our mood."

Rennes were hit by a double injury blow this week when Sylvain Marveaux and Cheikh Ndiaye were ruled out for one and two months respectively.

They join Jerome Leroy and Moussa Sow, who both face lengthy spells on the sidelines.