Brest and Angers battle in the round of 64 of the Coupe de France at Stade Francis-Le Ble on Saturday.
Both sides head into this weekend's tie in outstanding form, giving them confidence to progress to the next stage.
Match preview
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Brest begin their Coupe de France journey against Angers, keen to build on the commendable form they showed before Ligue 1's hiatus in December.
The Pirates lost 2-0 at Monaco in early November, but that turned out to be the Brittany outfit's last defeat in 2023, starting a run of six without losing in the French top division.
Five wins were secured through that period, including four clean sheets, and Eric Roy will hope his side pick up where they left off despite the break.
Brest have never won the Coupe de France, with their best showing a quarter-final place in 2014-15, and success on Saturday takes them closer to at least matching that run nine years later.
Champions League qualification for Roy's men would be the dream ambition this season, but possible cup success alongside should excite supporters.
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They are not expected to face welcoming opponents in this weekend's tie, with Angers currently the best side in Ligue 2.
Despite ending at the bottom of Ligue 1 last season, the Black and Whites have regrouped spectacularly to lead the second tier after 19 games and have automatic promotion in their sights.
Alexandre Dujeux's men are undefeated since October 30's 2-0 loss at Saint-Etienne, with that reverse beginning the club's nine-game sequence without losing.
Angers owe much of their form to a backline that has conceded 16 times in 19 Ligue 2 games, the best record in the French second tier.
Having already defeated HAC and Plessis Robinson in previous rounds, Angers now seek to claim their first scalp in the cup against high-flying opposition.
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Team News
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Achraf Dari (thigh) is not part of Morocco's Africa Cup of Nations squad and is absent due to injury; Jordan Amavi (calf) is in the wars and not anticipated to feature.
Romain Del Castillo has netted five times in Ligue 1 and could play a pivotal role on Saturday; however, Kamory Doumbia, who netted four times in the 4-0 triumph over Lorient before the hiatus, is on international duty with Mali at the imminent AFCON.
Lois Diony's 10 goals in Ligue 2 have catapulted Angers to the top of the standings, and the striker should feature at Brest.
Yan Valery is unavailable for the visitors as he has joined up with the Tunisia side for the Cup of Nations.
Dujeux utilises several variations of a back four and tends to keep opponents guessing by opting for a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-1-1, and Saturday should be no different.
Brest possible starting lineup:
Bizot; Lala, Chardonnet, Brassier, Locko; Lees Melou, Martin, Magnetti; Castillo, Mounie, Le Douaron
Angers possible starting lineup:
Fofana; Raolisoa, Hountondji, Lefort, Hanin; Ferhat, Lopy, Capelle, Bahoya; Abdelli; Diony
We say: Brest 1-0 Angers
While one of these sides will lose their undefeated run, Brest's superiority in recent meetings in this fixture and their quality should see them defeat Angers and extend their unbeaten run against the away side to four games.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Brest win with a probability of 45.71%. A win for Angers had a probability of 28.26% and a draw had a probability of 26%.
The most likely scoreline for a Brest win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.28%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.1%) and 2-0 (8.29%). The likeliest Angers win was 0-1 (8.42%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.37%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with an 11.3% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Brest in this match.
