Looking to end the season on a high over the next week, Brest welcome Champions League-chasing Lille to Stade Francis-Le Ble for a Ligue 1 clash on Saturday afternoon.
Les Pirates are marooned in the middle of the top flight with two games remaining, whereas Les Dogues are well in the hunt for a top-three standing.
Match preview
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After a historic third-placed finish in the 2023-24 edition of Ligue 1 – allowing them to qualify for the League Phase of the Champions League – Brest are back to midtable mediocrity during the 2024-25 season, with the club’s stay in the top flight set to be extended into a seventh year.
A three-game winless streak recently squashed any hopes of Les Pirates fighting for a spot on the continental stage this time around, however Saturday’s hosts enjoyed a productive afternoon at Stade Francis-Le Ble on Sunday, when a Romain Del Castillo strike was enough to beat Ligue 2-bound Montpellier HSC.
Winning just one of their most recent quartet of top-flight battles, Brest are currently occupying ninth spot in the Ligue 1 standings ahead of this weekend’s clash with Lille, a sizeable 10 points behind sixth-placed Strasbourg with only four points left to fight for before the campaign’s close.
Losing on only four occasions in front of their own supporters across 16 home league matches, Les Pirates should be relatively confident of earning a result this weekend under the tutelage of head coach Eric Roy, who is reportedly close to agreeing a two-year contract extension at the club.
Enjoying life back in his homeland following a difficult leap to Mainz of Germany’s top division, Ludovic Ajorque is the leading light at the top end of the pitch for Brest this season, with the towering 31-year-old scoring 12 goals and providing two assists during 29 Ligue 1 appearances.
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Following a fourth-placed finish at the top table of French football last season, Lille missed out on automatic qualification for the League Phase of the revamped Champions League, with the focus during the last two matches purely on securing a spot in the top three of Ligue 1.
Les Dogues were on a roll at the conclusion of April – winning three straight matches against Toulouse, Auxerre and Angers – but kick-started their May schedule with a share of the spoils at Decathlon Arena last weekend, when the visitors and second-placed Marseille drew 1-1.
Losing just one of their last six top-flight matches, collecting 13 points during that spell, Bruno Genesio‘s men are within striking distance of the top-three positions with two matches remaining, one point behind Monaco in third and two points back from Roberto De Zerbi‘s Olympiens.
Although an away win rate of six across 16 outings does not represent world-beating form, Les Dogues are pretty formidable on the road, conceding just 16 goals away from their own stadium this season – the joint-best record in the entire division alongside Will Still‘s Lens outfit.
The poster boy and main man as Lille chase down a return to the Champions League, Jonathan David unsurprisingly leads the majority of the attacking metrics for his side, with the Canadian marksman netting 25 goals across all competitions so far, meaning that he two strikes away from enjoying his best-ever term for the French club.
Team News
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Brest remain without the services of former Aston Villa defender Jordan Amavi, who has been sidelined since the latter part of April due to a calf injury.
A long-term absentee for Les Pirates, Ibrahim Salah picked up a foot issue in February and faces a battle to feature again before the season’s end.
The hosts’ options at the back are further reduced by the groin problems of Soumaila Coulibaly, who has managed just seven Ligue 1 appearances this season following his loan move from Borussia Dortmund.
Lille are unable to call upon the talents of Kosovo international Edon Zhegrova, with the 26-year-old yet to feature in 2025 because of a muscular issue.
Tiago Santos‘s campaign concluded in October due to a serious knee injury, whilst Ethan Mbappe remains in the medical room with a hamstring problem.
Brest possible starting lineup:
Bizot; Lala, Chardonnet, N’Diaye, Haidara; Camara, Lees-Melou, Doumbia; Del Castillo, Pereira-Lage, Ajorque
Lille possible starting lineup:
Chevalier; Meunier, Mandi, Ribeiro, Ismaily; Haraldsson, Bentaleb, Andre, Fernandez-Pardo; Sahraoui, David
We say: Brest 1-2 Lille
With nothing tangible left to play for during the last two games of the campaign, Brest could be swept away by a Lille storm on Saturday afternoon.
Les Dogues are desperately chasing down a Champions League spot, and should possess enough motivation and quality to get the job done at Stade Francis-Le Ble.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
