Arguably the standout game of this weekend in Ligue 1 pits second against third when Brest host Monaco at the Stade Francis-Le Ble on Sunday afternoon.
The two sides currently occupy the automatic qualification spots for next season's Champions League and will be aiming to hold off fourth-placed Lille from catching them, with Paulo Fonseca's team within four points of the two.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having finished 14th last season, even the most optimistic fan would not have predicted Brest to be leading the race to become the best of the rest this time around, currently sitting in second place on 53 points with just five games left to play.
A fantastic run since matchday 12 has seen Eric Roy's side catapult themselves from eighth into second place, where they have now resided for eight straight matchdays ahead of this one.
While the league title is all but wrapped up, with Paris Saint-Germain holding a 10-point lead at the top of the table, Brest will be aiming to ensure they finish within the automatic qualification spots for next season's Champions League, with sights set on finishing in a record-high second place.
They currently lead Sunday's opponents by a single point, while fourth-placed Lille are still in the running as they trail by just four points, however, Roy's men have already played a match more than everyone around them, leaving those behind the Pirates with the chance to make up ground in their games in hand.
That leaves this one as a potentially crucial fixture for Brest, giving them the chance to move further away from the leading pack and take three points away from a competitor for the two remaining automatic Champions League positions.
© Reuters
Monaco will be no easy task for the hosts though, with the visitors having won all of the last four meetings between the two sides, including a 2-0 victory earlier this campaign.
Monaco have seen a vast improvement under Adi Hutter this year compared to a sixth-placed finish under Philippe Clement last season, operating within the top four for all but two of the matchdays so far.
A large reason for that success has been their brilliant record in front of goal with only the league leaders scoring more than their 53 goals until now, nine more than the third-best attack in the league.
While the Red and Whites are the second best-performing side when playing on the road, Brest have lost just one game in front of their home crowd this season, leaving this one as a hugely intriguing fixture.
Team News
© Reuters
The hosts are coming into this one with a near full-strength squad, only missing key player Pierre Lees Melou after the midfielder was given his marching orders in his team's heart-breaking 4-3 defeat to Lyon last weekend.
Despite being defeated in their previous outing, Roy will be pleased with the continuation of Romain Del Castillo's impressive form over the past weeks which has seen the forward contribute to six goals in his last three appearances.
As for the visitors, they are set to be without five players for this encounter after suffering a series of recent injuries.
Aleksandr Golovin suffered an ankle injury earlier this month and is expected to be out for the remainder of the season, while Guillermo Maripan and Ismail Jakobs will not make their return until May.
Caio Henrique remains on the treatment table having sustained a cruciate ligament injury in a 1-0 loss to Nice in September.
Thilo Kehrer will also be unavailable as the defender is set to serve a suspension having been sent off in Monaco's 1-0 win against Rennes last time out.
Brest possible starting lineup:
Bizot; Lala, Chardonnet, Brassier, Locko; Magnetti, Martin, Camara; Del Castillo, Satriano, Pereira Lage
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Majecki; Vanderson, Singo, Salisu, Ouattara; Akliouche, Fofana, Zakaria, Diatta; Minamino, Ben Yedder
We say: Brest 2-2 Monaco
While Monaco come into this game in better form, going without defeat in their last six fixtures, Brest's home form will make this an extremely difficult match for the two sides, leaving us expecting a draw.
Both teams have scored their fair share of goals this season, and we expect that attacking prowess to be shown in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
