With continental football through a high Ligue 1 finish no longer attainable for Brest, Eric Roy‘s men welcome relegated Montpellier HSC to Stade Francis-Le Ble for Sunday’s gameweek 32 clash.
The Pirates enter the weekend on a two-game losing streak, conceding seven goals altogether in those losses, and they aim to avoid losing three in a row against the visitors, who became the third team to exit the French top flight before May in the last 10 seasons after Troyes in 2015-16 and Dijon in 2020-21.
Match preview
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Brest head into Sunday’s Ligue 1 fixture eager to prevent going four games without success, having suffered consecutive losses against Lens (3-1) and Marseille (4-1) in their last two matches.
Including a 3-3 draw with Saint-Etienne in mid-April, the home side have now allowed three goals or more in three top-flight matches in a row and aim to avoid conceding as many in four Ligue 1 fixtures for the first time in the competition’s history.
While supporters will hope to maintain that little bit of history on Sunday, a poor record on home soil against this weekend’s visitors may not instil confidence, considering their two wins in 11 as hosts against La Paillade, with five draws and four losses.
Further adding to their dread is being one of four teams that Montpellier have defeated this term, alongside Auxerre (3-2), Monaco (2-1) and Toulouse (2-1).
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Looking to complete the double over the Pirates, relegated Montpellier have little else to play for in their final four fixtures except pride and accumulating as many points as possible.
While supporters can find some encouragement from last weekend’s goalless draw with Reims, which ended an 11-match losing streak, La Paillade remain winless since their late January victory at Toulouse.
Although that triumph saw MHSC secure consecutive wins, the Occitania-based club failed to build on those successes, as evidenced by the losing streak that followed.
Without an away victory since that success at Toulouse, the only time they have managed to avoid losing on the road this term, Zoumana Camara, appointed last month, hopes to end that six-match losing streak away from home.
Having failed to score in five of those six losses — going scoreless in narrow defeats at Lille and Auxerre and 2-0 losses to Strasbourg, Nice, and Angers — the relegated team face an uphill battle in their penultimate away fixture of a dismal campaign.
Team News
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The hosts are without several injured players: Julien Le Cardinal, Bradley Locko, Ibrahim Salah, Jordan Amavi, Justin Bourgault and Soumaila Coulibaly.
Aiming to add to his 12 Ligue 1 goals, Ludovic Ajorque will back himself to increase his tally against the league’s joint-worst defence (71 goals conceded).
Like the hosts, Montpellier have a long list of unavailable players, as indicated by the expected absences of Andy Delort, Christopher Jullien, Enzo Tchato, Modibo Sagnan, Nicolas Pays, and Nikola Maksimovic.
La Paillade’s goalscoring problems this term are highlighted by no player finding the back of the net more than twice — Tanguy Coulibaly, Sagnan and Teji Savanier.
Brest possible starting lineup:
Bizot; Lala, Chardonnet, Ndiaye, Haidara; Magnetti, Lees-Melou; Lage, Camara, Sima; Ajorque
Montpellier HSC possible starting lineup:
Lecomte; Bille, Mouanga, Omeragic, Mincarelli, Sainte-Luce; Coulibaly, Nzingoula, Ferri, Fayad; Ndiaye
We say: Brest 1-0 Montpellier HSC
Despite the historical disappointments experienced in this fixture, Brest will back themselves against a Montpellier side that have failed to score in five of their last six away games, losing all six.
The Pirates have not lost consecutive fixtures on home soil since February-March 2023, and that year-long run should continue this weekend.
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