Montpellier – Brest

Montpellier is still in contention for places in the European competitions. Can they cope with Brest?

Montpellier and Brest are not far apart in the standings, 11th and 13th respectively. However, there are six points between them. In fact, it is Montpellier that comes a big tight group of teams still fighting for places in the European competitions. There are only seven points from the 11th to the fifth place. Therefore, Montpellier does not lose hope of climbing higher. On the other hand, Brest is already in the middle class, facing no opportunities and no threats - they are 12 points away from the relegation zone. Therefore, Brest in recent games is not too confident. Last time round, they lost to Angers (0-1), and before that they were thrashed by Marseille (1-4). But there was also an away win over a very motivated Lans (1-0). So Brest can even show their teeth in a relaxed mode. And Montpellier beat Bordeaux (2-0) last round, breaking their streak of three games without a win. And in the game with Bordeaux, Montpellier had two fewer players throughout the second half, but managed to hold on, which says more about the crisis of the Aquitanians. Those suspensions led to Montpellier not helping Ristić and Cozza in this game, while Mendes and Sako have health problems. Brest have only Siboua and Pierre-Gabriel out of the losses. All the best, however, should be fit. Brest's leading scorer is Honora, who has nine goals. Montpellier's attack looks more varied and assisted. The leading scorers this season are Vai and Mavidi, who have eight goals each. They scored one in the first leg against Brest. The match ended 4-0 in favour of Montpellier. Yet it cannot be said that Montpellier are reliable at home. They haven't won in three games, while a total of seven wins and five defeats for three draws at home. Brest have four wins and six defeats on the road, with five draws. Both teams are prone to mood swings and play based on that. If Montpellier catch their wave, as they did in the game with Bordeaux, they are capable of very bright and productive football. But both teams tend to make mistakes in defence.