Two sides batting in the middle of the Ligue 1 table will square off on Sunday, as Brest entertain Nantes.
Having both enjoyed wins last weekend, they have climbed to 12th and eighth spots respectively in the French top flight.
Match preview
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While they have not enjoyed much consistency throughout the season, aside from a strong run in the lead up to the new year, Brest have established themselves in mid-table in Ligue 1.
They headed into a meeting with Montpellier last weekend on the back of consecutive defeats and with just one victory from their previous five outings, but Michel Der Zakarian's side were able to return to winning ways.
Martin Satriano broke the deadlock in the 70th minute, and Franck Honorat doubled their lead 10 minutes later, with the hosts' 94th-minute penalty coming too late to force a share of the spoils.
That saw Les Pirates climb to 12th spot in Ligue 1, a notable improvement on last season's 17th-placed finish, and they will be keen to continue a rise with a second straight win at the weekend.
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They welcome a Nantes side who also got back to winning ways at the weekend, strengthening their position in the top half.
Following a 2-0 win over Montpellier, Les Canaris suffered consecutive narrow defeats at the hands of Troyes and Lille before facing a trip to Clermont last time out.
That game was level at 2-2 after goals from Ludovic Blas and Pedro Chirivella were cancelled out, and Randal Kolo Muani restored his side's lead with 20 minutes to go to ensure they left with all three points.
As a result, Antoine Kombouare's have climbed up to eighth spot, and, with Monaco and Lille only one point ahead, they will look to push for a spot in the top six with a second straight win on their travels.
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Team News
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While Brest have no long-term injuries of note, the fitness of midfielder Youcef Belaili and forward Jeremy Le Douaron are unclear, and they may be slowly eased back into action if deemed able to make the squad.
The duo of Martin Satriano and Franck Honorat should again be deployed in attack, after both got on the scoresheet in last weekend's win.
Striker Steve Mounie was reduced to a substitute appearance in that game, and he could again have to settle for a cameo as a result.
Nantes will likely remain without Nicolas Pallois, Charles Traore and Marcus Coco due to injuries, while Samuel Moutoussamy could again miss out.
While Les Canaris are unlikely to make many changes from the weekend's starting XI, winger Moses Simon should come in from the outset, having contributed three goals and seven assists in Ligue 1 this season.
He may support striker Randal Kolo Muani, who netted the winner last time out, while Ludovic Blas is another goal threat going forward.
Brest possible starting lineup:
Bizot; Duverne, Chardonnet, Herelle, Brassier; Faussurier, Belkebla, Lasne, Del Castillo; Satriano, Honorat
Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lafont; Castelletto, Girotto, Appiah; Fabio, Cyprien, Chirivella, Merlin; Blas, Muani, Simon
We say: Brest 1-2 Nantes
In what will be a closely-fought game that could definitely go either way, we just give the edge to the visitors.
Nantes have more to play for in the final run of the season, and they will hope to give their unlikely top-six bid another boost with a three-point haul.
Top tip
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 Brest win with a probability of 37.19%. A win for Nantes had a probability of 35.83% and a draw had a probability of 27%.
The most likely scoreline for a Brest win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.35%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.11%) and 2-0 (6.55%). The likeliest Nantes win was 0-1 (10.11%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.81%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.8% likelihood.
