Nantes will be looking to end a four-game winless streak in Ligue 1 when they welcome Brest to the Stade de la Beaujoire for Sunday's showdown.
In contrast, the visitors are searching for their second win on the bounce following a hard-fought 1-0 triumph over Monaco before the international break.
Match preview
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Nantes have now slipped to 16th in the table following a dismal spell of form over the past few weeks, with Christian Gourcuff's side losing three of their last four fixtures in the French top flight.
Les Canaris fell to a 2-1 defeat to Nice in gameweek six before the international break, and the tide of the game was set early on following Andrei Girotto's dismissal on the three-minute mark.
Dante and Khephren Thuram netted for Nice either side of an Imran Louza equaliser, and while Nantes were never expected to come out on top playing with 10 men for the majority of the match, losing by only one goal is not too discouraging.
However, Les Canaris still boast just one win from their six Ligue 1 outings of the 2020-21 campaign and will need to turn their fortunes around lest they risk dropping below the dotted line in the coming weeks.
Gourcuff's men took on fellow top-flight side Angers in a friendly during the international break, and Nantes fell to a 2-1 defeat in that encounter last Friday.
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Meanwhile, Brest have turned their fortunes around following two early losses and have now picked up nine points from their last 12 on offer, including a memorable 1-0 win over Monaco in gameweek six.
Romain Faivre scored the only goal of that game to propel Brest up to 11th in the table, with Olivier Dall'Oglio's men also taking maximum points from clashes with Dijon and Lorient over the past few weeks.
Les Pirates will feel confident of picking up further victories against an out-of-sorts Nantes before taking on an equally poor Strasbourg side later this month, but the tough fixtures begin soon after for Brest as Rennes, Lille and Saint-Etienne all lie in wait for Dall'Oglio's men in November.
Nantes and Brest met last season for the first time since the 2009-10 Ligue 2 campaign, and that tie last November ended in a 1-1 stalemate.
Nantes Ligue 1 form: DWLDLL
Brest Ligue 1 form: LLWWLW
Team News
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Girotto will serve a one-match suspension for the visit of Brest after his early sending off against Nice, meaning that Jean-Charles Castelletto should partner Nicolas Pallois in the heart of defence.
Anthony Limbombe will also be out for a little while longer, while Nantes's two Mali internationals - Kalifa Coulibaly and Charles Traore - are absent following coronavirus cases in the Mali camp.
On a more positive note, Jean-Kevin Augustin could make his debut up top after arriving from RB Leipzig.
As far as Brest are concerned, Dall'Oglio must contend with the absences of Paul Lasne and Cristian Battocchio, but both players are not expected to be out for long.
Lasne's spot in midfield could be taken by Hianga'a M'Bock, although right-back Ronael Pierre-Gabriel is another uncertainty, with Julien Faussurier waiting in the wings.
Denys Bain is not expected back from an ACL injury until 2021.
Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lafont; Appiah, Castelletto, Pallois, Fabio; Chirivella, Toure; Blas, Louza, Simon; Augustin
Brest possible starting lineup:
Larsonneuer; Faussurier, Herelle, Duverne, Perraud; Belkebla, M'Bock; Honorat, Charbonnier, Faivre; Mounie
We say: Nantes 1-2 Brest
With 10 goals to their name already this season, only the top five teams have scored more goals than Brest at this early stage, and Dall'Oglio's attackers ought to feel confident of picking up where they left off against a struggling Nantes side. The hosts will put up a fight but Brest should do enough to get the job done.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data
Ben Knapton
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Nantes win with a probability of 44.9%. A win for Brest had a probability of 29.02% and a draw had a probability of 26.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Nantes win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.09%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.04%) and 2-0 (8.08%). The likeliest Brest win was 0-1 (8.51%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.4%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 4.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Nantes would win this match.
