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Saturday sees Brest play host to Lille in a Ligue 1 clash at the Stade Francis Le Ble.
Brest are currently sitting in 13th place in the league table, while Lille are a handful of places above them in 8th.
So can Brest pick up a key victory here, or will the reigning Ligue 1 champions come out on top?
After an incredible run of six straight wins from late October through to early December, Brest’s form has tailed off in recent matches.
Since defeating Marseille 1-2 on December 4, they have lost three and drawn one of their next four games. 2022 has seen them fall to Nice and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), conceding a total of five goals without scoring once.
Brest did defeat Bordeaux to make it to the Coupe de France’s round of 16. However, if they want to climb the Ligue 1 table they’ll need to pull off a strong result this weekend.
Lille, meanwhile, are currently on their best run of the 2021-22 campaign, having not lost a match since falling to PSG on October 29.
The reigning champions have picked up a total of 17 points from a possible 27 since that game, and have claimed a key victory over high flyers Rennes.
2022 saw them start in solid fashion, as they picked up a draw with Marseille before defeating strugglers Lorient most recently.
Brest vs Lille Head-to-Head
There have been 30 games played between the two sides in the past. Lille have won 15 while Brest have won just the six games. Nine games have ended in a stalemate. The last two games between these sides ended in draws, and Brest haven’t defeated Lille in a competitive game since 2012.
Brest form guide: L-L-W-D-W
Lille form guide: W-D-L-W-W
Brest vs Lille Team News
Brest
Two players are out with injuries for this game and a third is doubtful, while Haris Belkebla is away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Injured: Sebastien Cibois, Romain Del Castillo
Doubtful: Denys Bain
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Haris Belkebla
Lille
Four players are likely to be out of action in this match for Lille, including winger Timothy Weah and new signing Hatem Ben Arfa.
Injured: Orestis Karnezis, Timothy Weah
Doubtful: Hatem Ben Arfa, Jeremy Pied
Suspended: None
Brest vs Lille Predicted XI
Brest predicted XI (4-4-2): Marco Bizot, Ronael Pierre-Gabriel, Lillian Brassier, Christophe Herelle, Jean-Kevin Duverne, Romain Faivre, Lucien Agoume, Hugo Magnetti, Franck Honorat, Jeremy Le Douaron, Steve Mounie
Lille predicted XI (4-4-2): Ivo Grbic, Zeki Celik, Jose Fonte, Sven Botman, Reinildo Mandava, Renato Sanches, Benjamin Andre, Xeka, Jonathan Bamba, Burak Yilmaz, Jonathan David
Brest vs Lille Prediction
This should be a relatively close game if Brest can play to their potential. However, they haven’t been doing that recently and it seems tricky to imagine them turning things around here.
Lille’s squad may be a little tired due to playing Lorient on Wednesday evening. But their players are on a good run and they have enough firepower to bother any defense.
So the prediction is a tight away win.
Prediction: Brest 1-2 Lille
