Brest will be playing in European competition for the first time in their 121-year history after a memorable Ligue 1 campaign in 2023-24 in which they finished third, winning 17 of their 34 matches and collecting an impressive 61 points to secure their highest ever finish in the French top flight.

Eric Roy was the mastermind behind the club's success in his first season at the helm, but the 56-year-old has since seen his side suffer three defeats in their opening four league games of the season against Marseille, Lens and Paris Saint-Germain.

Last weekend, the Pirates suffered a 3-1 defeat away to reigning champions PSG. Despite taking the lead on the half-hour mark through a Romain Del Castillo penalty, PSG fought back to claim maximum points thanks to goals from Ousmane Dembele (2) and Fabian Ruiz.

Sitting in 14th place with just three points was not the way Brest wanted to start the season, and Roy now has the task of creating a positive atmosphere in his first-team camp as they prepare for a historic moment in the club's history - their first-ever European match at home to Sturm Graz.

Brest will become the 12th French club to play in the Champions League and the first since Nantes in 1965, when they lost 2-0 to Partizan Belgrade.

Sturm Graz, meanwhile, are preparing for their first Champions League appearance since 1998-99, 1999-2000 and 2000-01, when they reached the group stage but failed to progress to the knockout stages.

Die Schwaazn have tried and failed to qualify for the Champions League through the play-offs in recent years, but the Austrian Bundesliga champions - who won their first top-flight title in 13 years last season - have benefited from UEFA's decision to expand the competition to 36 teams by qualifying automatically this term.

Since losing 1-0 to Rapid Vienna on the opening weekend of the new Austrian Bundesliga season, Sturm Graz have won each of their last five domestic matches in all competitions, although Christian Ilzer's side have not been in competitive action since a 4-2 win over WSG Tirol on 31 August.

Sturm Graz, who were knocked out in the last 16 of the European Conference League last season, have the lowest win percentage (27.5%) of the six Austrian clubs that have played at least 50 games in European competition, having won just five of their last 26 matches in the Conference League and Europa League.

Die Schwoazn have also lost their opening match in each of their last three Champions League campaigns by a combined score of 9-0, so they will need to be at the top of their game if they are to come away with a positive result against Brest on Thursday.

Brest possible starting lineup:

Bizot; Lala, Le Cardinal, Chardonnet, Haidara; Magnetti, Fernandes, Camara; Del Castillo, Ajorque, Sima

Sturm Graz possible starting lineup:

Scherpen; Gazibegovic, Aiwu, Wuthrich, Lavalee; Horvat, Stankovic, Kiteishvili; Zvonarek; Boving, Biereth

Prediction:Brest 2-1 Sturm Graz

Brest Vs Sturm Graz stream and TV listing

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