Still winless in the 2021-22 Ligue 1 season, Brest welcome Monaco to the Stade Francis Le-Ble on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts played out an eye-catching 1-1 draw away to champions Lille last time out, while Niko Kovac's side eased past Montpellier 3-1.
Match preview
© Reuters
Lille may be a shadow of their former selves under Jocelyn Gourvennec this season, but Jonathan David certainly is not, as the clinical Canadian took all of 19 minutes to latch onto a long pass from Jose Fonte and draw first blood against Brest.
However, Romain Faivre's deflected free kick trickled into the back of the net to restore parity for Brest before the half-time whistle blew, and Michel der Zakarian's side held on to come away with a point from the home of the champions.
While that draw can certainly be held in high regard, it does not change the fact that Brest are still searching for their first win of the new season, as a record of six draws and five defeats sees them occupy the relegation playoff place as things stand.
Incredibly, both teams have scored in all 11 of Brest's league encounters so far this season - with Les Pirates scoring one goal in 10 of those clashes and two against Paris Saint-Germain - but failure to keep a single clean sheet truly highlights where their problems lie.
All in all, Brest's winless run in the top flight now stands at 15 games since beating Saint-Etienne 2-1 away from home in April, and not since a 3-1 win over Dijon in March have Les Pirates come up trumps at the Stade Francis Le-Ble - a miserable streak that Monaco will need no second invitation to exploit.
© Reuters
Monaco's inconsistency has plagued them all season long, but when Kovac needed one of his established names to step up, Kevin Volland delivered to inspire his side to a much-needed 3-1 win over Montpellier at the Stade Louis II.
The German forward opened the scoring after 12 minutes before assisting Wissam Ben Yedder's header with a delightful outside-of-the-foot cross, and Gelson Martins would put the tie to bed in the second half before Teji Savanier's late penalty for Montpellier.
Having also beaten PSV Eindhoven 2-1 in the Europa League in recent days, things are starting to look up for Les Monegasques, who have risen to eighth in the Ligue 1 standings after taking 13 points from the last 16 on offer.
Monaco are finally starting to play like their old selves again with four wins from their last five in Ligue 1, although they have conceded in all five of their away games so far, so attack once again may be the best form of defence for Ben Yedder, Volland and co this weekend.
Brest have actually won their last two home fixtures with Monaco - although one of those wins came all the way back in 2011 - and Les Monegasques eased to a 2-0 victory when the sides last locked horns back in May.
- D
- L
- L
- L
- D
- D
- D
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- D
- W
- L
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Brest will be forced to cope without midfielder Hianga'a Mbock due to an accumulation of yellow cards, although he was an unused substitute in the draw with Lille anyway.
Paul Lasne, Sebastien Cibois and Romain Del Castillo all remain sidelined for the hosts, but Der Zakarian is unlikely to consider many changes from last week's strong showing.
As a result, Jeremy Le Douaron could once again get the nod in the final third over Irvin Cardona, as Steve Mounie leads the line for Les Pirates.
Monaco have enjoyed the luxury of a rare week without a Europa League game, and Kovac therefore only has the absences of Krepin Diatta and Cesc Fabregas to worry about this weekend.
Guillermo Maripan was hooked at half time last weekend but is not thought to be carrying an injury, while Djibril Sidibe and Aleksandr Golovin could force their way back into contention after recovering from knocks.
However, with Kovac also keeping next week's return clash with PSV in mind, the same XI from the win over Montpellier could be fielded from the off here.
Brest possible starting lineup:
Bizot; Pierre-Gabriel, Herelle, Chardonnet, Duverne; Magnetti, Belkebla; Honorat, Faivre, Le Douaron; Mounie
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Aguilar, Maripan, Pavlovic, Henrique; Martins, Tchouameni, Matazo, Diop; Ben Yedder, Volland
We say: Brest 1-3 Monaco
Brest's consistent goalscoring record coupled with Monaco's inability to keep the back door shut on rival territory makes it difficult to envisage a low-scoring encounter this weekend.
However, the visitors appear to have turned a corner in recent weeks and should be feeling the benefits of a week without European football, so we can only back Les Monegasques to get the job done.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Monaco win with a probability of 51.22%. A win for Brest had a probability of 24.67% and a draw had a probability of 24.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Monaco win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.41%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.65%) and 0-2 (8.8%). The likeliest Brest win was 1-0 (6.76%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.42%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 3.7% likelihood.
