Saturday's early Ligue 1 kickoff sees Brest and Rennes lock horns at the Stade Francis-Le Ble, with a solitary point separating the Brittany rivals after three matches.

The hosts suffered their first defeat of the season as they lost 2-0 against Marseille last weekend, while the visitors were held to a 2-2 draw by newly-promoted Le Havre.

Match preview

Brest kicked off their campaign with an impressive 3-2 victory over Lens, coming from 2-0 down to claim all three points against last season's runners-up, thanks largely to a brace from Romain Del Castillo.

The Pirates made it two wins from two as they overcame Le Havre on the second weekend of the season, with Del Castillo finding the back of the net once again before Lilian Brassier's 56th-minute winner.

However, Eric Roy's men were brought back down to earth as they suffered a 2-0 defeat at Marseille last time out, despite racking up 18 shots while enjoying the lion's share of possession at the Stade Velodrome.

Regardless of last weekend's loss, the Pirates find themselves fourth in the Ligue 1 table after making a strong start to the season, while only two teams - Monaco and Marseille - have picked up more points than Brest in 2023-24.

Meanwhile, Rennes kick-started their season with a 5-1 thrashing of Ligue 1 newcomers Metz, with Ibrahim Salah coming off the bench to score twice in the rout, while Jeremy Doku netted his final goal for the club before joining Manchester City.

Since then, however, Les Rennais have recorded back-to-back draws, playing out a 1-1 stalemate with Lens before drawing 2-2 with Le Havre last weekend, despite registering 62% possession and 22 shots against last season's Ligue 2 champions.

Bruno Genesio's side raced into a 2-0 lead inside 24 minutes last time out, courtesy of goals from Ludovic Blas and Christopher Wooh, but a brace from Nabil Alioui saw Le Havre come from behind to snatch a point.

Still, the Red and Blacks are yet to taste defeat in 2023-24, having taken five points from a possible nine, while only table-topping Monaco have scored more goals than Rennes' eight this term.

Team News

Thankfully for Eric Roy, Brest's injury list has diminished in recent weeks, meaning that 20-year-old defender Josue Escartin is now the club's only absentee.

The hosts are expected to line up in a 4-3-3 formation on Saturday, with former Huddersfield Town striker Steve Mounie joining Romain Del Castillo and Jeremy Le Douaron in the forward line.

Elsewhere, ex-Norwich City midfielder Pierre Lees-Melou will operate in the engine room, while Brendan Chardonnet and Lilian Brassier will resume their partnership at centre-back.

Rennes, on the other hand, look set to be without the injured duo of Warmed Omari and Martin Terrier for the foreseeable future, with the latter last featuring for the club back in January.

Following the departure of Jeremy Doku, Arnaud Kalimuendo will lead the line for the visitors this weekend, with Ludovic Blas and Amine Gouiri offering attacking support from the flanks.

At the opposite end of the pitch, veteran goalkeeper Steve Mandanda will continue between the sticks, while former Chelsea and Manchester United enforcer Nemanja Matic will anchor the midfield.

Brest possible starting lineup:
Bizot; Lala, Chardonnet, Brassier, Locko; Camara, Lees-Melou, Magnetti; Del Castillo, Mounie, Le Douaron

Rennes possible starting lineup:
Mandanda; Assignon, Wooh, Theate, Truffert; Matic; Blas, Bourigeaud, Le Fee, Gouiri; Kalimuendo

We say: Brest 1-2 Rennes

Given that Brest have made a strong start to the season, we expect the Pirates to give Rennes a run for their money, but the visitors should have enough quality to claim all three points on Saturday.

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