Nantes vs. Brest (Friday, 6.00pm)
© Imago
Nantes will look to extend their unbeaten start to 2025 when they face Brest at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Ligue 1 on Friday.
Ahead of the quick turnaround from the League Phase to the playoffs in the Champions League, Brest will prepare for another showdown against Paris Saint-Germain with this trip to the relegation-threatened Canaries.
We say: Nantes 1-1 Brest
Brest beat Nantes in the last 32 of the Coupe recently, but with much focus now set to be on the upcoming Champions League playoff against PSG, manager Roy could be tempted to rotate, to the detriment of their chances here.
Nantes have become draw specialists of late, and even though they earned a win against Reims last weekend, Brest should provide a sterner challenge in a rare draw for them - no club in Europe's top-10 leagues have drawn as few this season (one).
> Ligue 1 preview: Nantes vs Brest
PSG vs. Monaco (Friday, 8.05pm)
© Imago
Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco meet for the third time in six weeks when they face off at the Parc des Princes in Ligue 1 on Friday night.
Monaco's defeat on matchday eight in the Champions League means they will join PSG in the playoffs which start next week, meaning this game has been moved forward to allow both clubs the maximum possible preparation time for those ties.
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 Monaco
This PSG side is almost unrecognisable to the one that was struggling to string two results together earlier in the campaign, and they will fancy themselves at extending their unbeaten run in the league this season here, especially after recording two wins over Monaco in the last six weeks.
However, Monaco are the only club to have won more than 40 games against PSG in their history (48), and have scored on 12 of their last 13 trips to the Parc des Princes, so they should certainly offer a stern test, even if they do just fall short.
> Ligue 1 preview: PSG vs Monaco
Oliver Thomas
