Preview: Brest vs Paris FC - prediction, team news, lineups

Meeting for the first time on the Ligue 1 stage, Brest welcome Paris FC to Stade Francis-Le Ble in Brittany for a Sunday matinee affair.

A 3-1 defeat at Lens the last time out kept Les Pirates winless on the season, while the side from Paris claimed their first victory of the new campaign, 3-2 over Metz.

Match preview

For a second successive occasion, Brest have begun a Ligue 1 campaign poorly, currently one of two teams in the top flight that have yet to earn a victory alongside Metz.

Similarly to last season, their defending has been rather suspect, with Eric Roy’s men conceding eight goals after three matchdays, tied with Paris FC for the most in the competition.

Dating back to the previous campaign, they have conceded a combined 14 goals in their last four Ligue 1 matches, while scoring only three themselves.

A draw or defeat this weekend would equal their longest stretch without a triumph at Stade Francis-Le Ble from last season (two games).

At the same time, this team have rarely come away empty-handed in Brittany, suffering just one defeat in their previous eight Ligue 1 home fixtures (3-1 versus Lens in April).

Stade Brestois have never lost a home game at any level to their upcoming opponents, with their last victory against them at Stade Francis-Le Ble occurring in a 2016 Ligue 2 encounter (1-0).

It took a lot of persistence, but Paris FC overcame a resilient Metz side to claim their first triumph in the top flight in over 40 years (1979).

On Sunday, they can claim their first Ligue 1 triumph away from home since October 1978, when they came from behind to beat Bordeaux 2-1.

Doing so would also mark the first time since that same year that this team will have claimed consecutive victories in the top flight, winning three in a row between October and November 47 years ago.

Stephane Gilli’s side are winless in their last three league fixtures away from home, dating back to their previous Ligue 2 campaign, while conceding in eight consecutive domestic affairs.

Defending played a key role in their Ligue 2 promotion last season, as they allowed the second-fewest goals in that competition, but that has held them back in the top flight so far.

Les Parisiens have come away with points in their previous two visits to Stade Francis-Le Ble, but were leading at the half in both instances, only to walk away with a 1-1 draw.

Brest Ligue 1 form:

Paris FC Ligue 1 form:

Team News

A knock could keep Brendan Chardonnet out of the Brest lineup this weekend, while Hugo Magnetti and Radoslaw Majecki will both be forced to sit with suspensions.

Mama Balde had their only goal the last time out, his first of the campaign, putting him one away from equalling his mark from the previous season.

On the Paris side, a hamstring strain kept Pierre-Yves Hamel on the sidelines versus Metz, and the club’s second-highest goalscorer in Ligue 2 last season (five goals) is unlikely to feature on Sunday.

Moses Simon scored the winner for them on matchday three, while Ilan Kebbal netted a brace to give him three on the season, level with Paris Saint-Germain’s Joao Neves for the most in the league so far.

Brest possible starting lineup:

Coudert; Lala, Le Cardinal, Diaz, Locko; Doumbia, Chotard, Ebimbe; Del Castillo, Ajorque, Balde

Paris FC possible starting lineup:

Trapp; Chergui, Mbow, Otavio, De Smet; M. Lopez, Cafaro, Camara; Kebbal, Krasso, Simon

We say: Brest 1-2 Paris FC

While the results have not always been there for them, the continuity and dynamism at Paris FC is encouraging and something we believe will give them a first-ever away triumph against a struggling Brest side.

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