Bottom of the table Brest travel to the Stade Gabriel Montpied to face Clermont in Ligue 1 on Sunday, looking for a first win in over two months.

After almost going down last season, Clermont have been much stronger this time around, currently occupying a position in the top half.

Match preview

After losing eight of their last 12 matches at the back end of last season, Clermont were rather fortunate to have stayed up, finishing four points above Saint-Etienne who went down via the relegation playoff.

This season though, fortunes have changed drastically, and Clermont have had an excellent start when compared with their pre-season ambitions.

Five wins from their first 11 games, and a draw away to Monaco in their last league outing represents an encouraging start, although they will have been very disappointed not to get a win last week, given that Monaco had 10 men for 75 minutes.

Being nine points clear of trouble already shows great progress has been made, and sitting in eighth, they are only four points off the European places going into the weekend.

They should be confident going into a clash with bottom of the table Brest too, considering that three of their four defeats this season came against sides in the top four, so they usually perform well against weaker opposition.

Brest have had three months to forget so far in Ligue 1, sitting rock bottom having also suffered the heaviest defeat in the league so far this season, a 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Montpellier in front of their own support.

Their inability to hold onto a lead has been a factor in the reason why they have lost 10 of their last 14 league matches, as their last three matches saw Brest take the lead but inexplicably fail to win any of them.

A 1-1 draw with Auxerre saw them throw away the win late on against 10 men, then after leading against both Lorient and Nantes, they went on to lose 2-1 and 4-1 respectively.

The defeat to Lorient saw the board lose patience with Michel Der Zakarian, as the Armenian manager was sacked, with Bruno Grougi taking caretaker charge, but that had no effect as they were beaten heavily at the Stade de la Beaujoire last week.

Team News

Johan Gastien should return from his suspension for Clermont after accumulating too many yellow cards in midfield and could partner Maxime Gonalons, who could also make a comeback here after missing the draw at Monaco.

There was a huge reshape to the side last week, with Saif-Eddine Khaoui moving from an attacking role into central midfield, and Elbasan Rashani moving to right wing-back from a similar role.

Mehdi Zeffane will remain out until November with a calf problem, as the Algerian full-back managed just 20 minutes on his return from injury before a recurrence occurred.

Ex-Birmingham City man Jeremie Bela is close to returning from a muscle strain, but this game will come too soon for him.

Grougi made very few changes to the Brest side which Der Zakarian was selecting before his sacking, but the 4-1 defeat last week may see the caretaker take firmer action this week.

Der Zakarian switched from five-at-the-back to four in the matches before his sacking, and Grougi stuck with that last week, but with Brendan Chardonnet returning from suspension at centre-back, he could be tempted to go with a five again, using the captain alongside Achraf Dari and Lilian Brassier.

Christophe Herelle will not feature though, as the defender recovers from a groin injury, and neither will striker Steve Mounie, whose season has been disrupted by two injuries, meaning he has played just 22 minutes so far.

Clermont possible starting lineup:
Diaw; Seidu, Wieteska, Caufriez; Rashani, Gonalons, Gastien, Cham, Borges; Andric, Kyei

Brest possible starting lineup:
Bizot; Fadiga, Dari, Chardonnet, Brassier, Uronen; Honorat, Belkebla, Lees-Melou, Del Castillo; Slimani

We say: Clermont 2-0 Brest

Brest are in real danger currently, and without a manager, they remain in turmoil and in need of some stability.

Clermont have performed excellently against sides in the bottom half, and a win here looks likely if they are on their game.

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