Ligue 1 | Gameweek 11

Nov 10, 2024 at 4pm UK

Stade de la Mosson

Montpelliervs.Brest

Match preview

Michel Der Zakarian was fired live on TV following Montpellier's disappointing 5-0 home defeat to Marseille last month, with fan favourite Jean-Louis Gasset hired for the third time to replace him.

Gasset's appointment hasn't changed things much, though. Montpellier are still stuck at the bottom of Ligue 1, losing both games under the new manager without scoring.

In his first game in charge, Montpellier were 3-0 down at home to Toulouse inside 27 minutes, before they faced the only side to have made as bad a start as them in the league last week.

That team was Le Havre, and they also beat Gasset's men, winning 1-0. They're now five points ahead of Montpellier, despite still being second-from-bottom.

It's not impossible to recover from being six points from safety with less than one-third of the season played, but the lack of response to the change in management suggests Montpellier are in trouble.

They've lost five games in a row now, conceding 15 in the process. That's contributed to their goals against column reading 30, which is the worst record any team has put up after 10 Ligue 1 games since 1978.

This game is going to be tough for them as they try to turn things around. It'll be interesting to see how they play after the international break when they face Saint-Etienne.

Just last season, Montpellier beat Brest 10-0 across their two league games. But things couldn't be more different for the two teams now.

Brest finished third in Ligue 1 last season and got their own back by winning the league double. Their domestic form has been up and down this season, but they're still having a great year.

Brest are currently in 11th place, two points from the top six and only three points above the relegation zone. Their five-game unbeaten run came to an end last week with a loss to Nice. However, on the continent, they continue to perform well.

Eric Roy's team bounced back quickly from that setback by winning 2-1 away to Sparta Prague on Wednesday. This puts them in fourth place in the Champions League standings, which is their first ever season in Europe.

After a 4-0 win at Red Bull Salzburg on matchday two and a victory in Reims at the end of last month, the midweek success means that Brest have now won three in a row away from home.

Ideally, the visitors will look to make it four on the spin here, especially when they look at the calendar and see that the two games they have after the international break are intimidating trips to Monaco and Barcelona.

Montpellier HSC Ligue 1 form:

WLLLLL

Brest Ligue 1 form:

WLWDWL

Brest form (all competitions):

WDDWLW

Team News

No team in Ligue 1 has a longer list of absentees than Montpellier, and some of those are self-inflicted, with Teji Savanier and Stefan Dzodic suspended after being sent off in the last two games.

However, La Paillade's defence has been decimated by injury, with Christopher Jullien, Lucas Mincarelli, Becir Omeragic, Kiki Kouyate and Theo Sainte-Luce all likely to miss out.

Othmane Maamma is back on the treatment table after being limited to 30 minutes against Toulouse, while Yanis Issoufou, Joris Chotard and Khalil Fayed are all on the sidelines.

Having two in every position is working wonders for Brest and is causing Roy a selection headache as some of those who shone in midweek could be rested with plenty of capable alternatives waiting in the wings.

As many as six or seven players from the side that won in Prague could feature, one of whom could be Luck Zogbe, but he remains a doubt after suffering a concussion, while Abdallah Sima and Bradley Locko will miss out.

Mathias Pereira Lage will be hoping to start against one of his favourites, the Brest winger having scored on his last two visits to this venue, but he will face competition from Mama Balde and Ibrahim Salah.

Possible starting lineup

Montpellier HSC possible starting lineup:

Lecomte; Sacko, Maksimovic, Sagnan, Sylla; Nzingoula, Ferri, Toure; Nordin, Adams, Al-Tamari

Brest possible starting lineup:

Bizot; Lala, Chardonnet, Le Cardinal, Haidara; Fernandes, Magnetti, Martin; Del Castillo, Mama Balde, Pereira Lage