Preview: Brest vs Nantes - prediction, team news, lineups

Brest can equal their longest winning run in Ligue 1 from last season with another victory on Saturday at Stade Francis-Le Ble against Nantes.

Last Sunday, Les Pirates won their second successive match, 2-0 over Angers to climb up to ninth in the table, while Nantes are 16th after collecting a 2-2 draw with Toulouse.

Match preview

A season that looked to be heading for disaster has taken a sudden turn for Stade Brestois, who are now within three points of a place in Europe heading into this weekend.

The Brittany side had just one point from their first four Ligue 1 affairs but have since reeled off two convincing wins by a combined margin of 6-1.

Eric Roy’s men have points in eight of their last 10 home encounters in this competition, and on Saturday can win consecutive top-flight games at Stade Francis-Le Ble for the first time since May.

Scoring goals in Brest has not been a problem for this side, who have netted in 13 of their previous 14 domestic affairs on home soil, averaging 2.1 goals per game over that span.

Since suffering a 5-2 defeat at home to Paris Saint-Germain in February, this team have not lost a single league game in which they netted multiple times.

Stade Brestois have won five of their previous six matches against Nantes across all competitions, losing none of those outings over that period.

After coming back from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw on matchday five, it was a different story for Les Canaris last week against Toulouse.

Twice, Nantes found themselves in front at the Stadium de Toulouse but let it slip away, extending their winless run in Ligue 1 to three games.

On Saturday, Luis Castro will seek his first Ligue 1 away triumph as their coach, with this team winless in their last five league contests dating back to the previous campaign.

While they dropped two points the last time out, Nantes have not gone pointless in a league contest when scoring first since being hammered in the Principality by Monaco 7-1 in February.

Only six of their 25 Ligue 1 affairs this year ended in a victory for Nantes, the fewest of any French side having played the full period in the top flight over that span.

La Maison Jaune’s defending has been anything but top-class as the visitors, conceding in 19 successive Ligue 1 away matches, with only Serie A side Sassulo on a longer such run in the Big Five European leagues (29).

Brest Ligue 1 form:

Nantes Ligue 1 form:

Team News

In their victory last week, Brest were without Mama Balde, who had a thigh issue, while Lucas Tousart did not feature as he was recovering from a calf strain.

Remy Labeau put home his first goal in a Stade Brestois shirt since being loaned out to them by Lens but he left with what appeared to be an elbow injury in the second half, with Romain Del Castillo scoring the other goal in that match, though he is questionable on Saturday with muscle discomfort.

Meanwhile, Fabien Centonze was unavailable to Nantes in their previous game due to a knock, while Francis Coquelin was still recovering from a hamstring injury.

Mayckel Lahdo and Louis Leroux each found the back of the net for them on matchday six, the first goals of the season for both players.

Brest possible starting lineup:

Majecki; Lala, Chardonnet, Diaz, Locko; Chotard, Magnetti; Zogbe, Doumbia, Edimbe; Ajorque

Nantes possible starting lineup:

Lopes; Amian, Awaziem, Tati, Leroux; Hyun-seok, Mwanga, Tabibou; Guirassy, Abline, Lahdo