The first game in Ligue 1 since the final international break of 2024 will see Monaco welcome Brest to the Stade Louis II on Friday night.

Both clubs are neck-and-neck in the Champions League standings at present, but have enjoyed very different starts to the domestic campaign.

Match preview

Monaco suffered a shaky couple of weeks heading into the November international break, but were able to overcome that and leave themselves in a strong position before club football was briefly halted.

A 1-0 win away to Bologna in the Champions League means they are currently third at the halfway point of the league phase, with only leaders Liverpool on more points at present.

Adi Hutter's side were then hugely impressive in coming from behind to win 3-1 away to a Strasbourg side that had not lost at home this season until that point.

Monaco trailed with just over 10 minutes remaining, but finally got the goals their domination deserved, racking up an xG of 3.72 across the 90 minutes, and netting three late goals in Alsace.

That late show now means Monaco have scored more goals in the final 15 minutes of matches in Ligue 1 this season than any other club - seven - and it keeps them in the automatic Champions League places, and six points behind Paris Saint-Germain at the top.

The next objective will be to return to form on home soil, as their two wins before the break both came away from the Stade Louis II.

Drawing 0-0 with Lille and surprisingly losing 1-0 versus Angers means that another blank here could see Monaco fail to score in three straight home league games for the first time since 2010.

However, when taking into consideration their recent record against Brest, that seems unlikely, because the hosts have won all of their last five home games against their upcoming opponents.

Brest have lost on 12 of their 16 trips to the principality in the top flight, and Monaco's tally of just eight goals conceded after 11 matches is their best in Ligue 1 in the 21st century, illustrating the daunting task ahead of the visitors.

Eric Roy's side have upset the odds on more than occasion in 2024 though, and their supporters will never want this year to come to an end.

In their debut European campaign, Brest sit up in fourth, level on points with Monaco in the Champions League standings, sitting on 10 points, which is close to guaranteeing them a spot in the knockout round.

Domestically though, Roy will be the first to admit that results have not been as impressive, with Brest sitting down in 12th, just three points off the bottom three, and seven off third place, their position from last season.

Already, the Pirates have lost six league games this season with less than one-third of the campaign played, only one defeat fewer than in the entirety of last season.

Back-to-back defeats have seen them tumble down the standings slightly, starting with a 1-0 loss at home to Nice, before very disappointingly going down 3-1 at bottom-of-the-table Montpellier just before the break.

Team News

Monaco were able to welcome back defender Mohammed Salisu after a month on the sidelines shortly before the break, and after being an unused sub, he did not meet up with the Ghana squad for their unsuccessful Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers last week.

There will be doubts over the fitness of Vanderson and Takumi Minamino though, as they will not return to France until late this week after featuring for their respective nations in South America and Asia on Tuesday.

Denis Zakaria and Aleksandr Golovin are injury doubts themselves after pulling out of international duty last week, while Folarin Balogun is still recovering from a dislocated shoulder.

Eliesse Ben Seghir will be full of confidence following his brace in the Strasbourg win, and he was part of the Morocco side that won twice last week, scoring 12 goals in the process.

Brest striker Ludovic Ajorque will fancy his chances of finding the net should he start here, given that Monaco have been his favoured opponents during his career, with five goals scored against them.

The two injury worries for the visitors both concern full-backs, with Massadio Haidara a doubt, and Bradley Locko still out with an Achilles injury.

Roy made seven changes to the side that won away to Sparta Prague two weeks ago when they lost at Montpellier, and with a trip to Barcelona on the horizon in midweek, the Brest manager could keep some players in reserve again ahead of that one.

Monaco possible starting lineup:
Majecki; Singo, Kehrer, Salisu, Caio Henrique; Magassa, Camara; Akliouche, Ilenikhena, Ben Seghir; Embolo

Brest possible starting lineup:
Bizot; Zogbe, Chardonnet, Ndiaye, Amavi; Magnetti, Lees-Melou, Martin; Faivre, Ajorque, Mama Balde

We say: Monaco 1-0 Brest

Monaco have been hugely impressive defensively and will seek to use that here to end a two-game losing run at home without scoring, in what will be a huge week for both clubs.

No supporters in France will be having a better season than Brest's, but that is solely down to their continental form, and it is tough to see them avoiding a third straight league defeat here.


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