Brest and Paris Saint-Germain lock horns in Ligue 1 on Saturday just days after both completed their league phase campaigns in the Champions League.
The two enjoyed differing journeys through the new format, with Brest starting brilliantly and then tailing off, while PSG had a nightmare start before finishing strongly, and they could be drawn together in the playoff round in February.
Match preview
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Luis Enrique's PSG side continue to go from strength to strength, following a 4-1 thrashing of Stuttgart in Germany on Wednesday night.
After scoring just three goals and winning only one of their first five league phase matches, PSG ended with three straight wins, scoring 11 goals in the process.
That saw the Parisians finish 15th, making them seeded for the playoffs, where they will face another French club, either Monaco or upcoming opponents Brest, before a potential last-16 showdown with Liverpool or Barcelona.
Victory over Stuttgart also extended PSG's unbeaten run to 13 games across all competitions, despite their rather disappointing home 1-1 draw with Reims last weekend.
Many changes were made to the starting XI with the Stuttgart game in mind, but it does mean that PSG have now failed to beat an opponent in three successive home games for the first time in 13 years, by drawing their last three at home to Reims.
However, that still saw them extend their lead at the top even further, with Marseille's defeat at Nice stretching the gap at the top to 10 points, with PSG now sauntering to the title.
Ahead of matchday 20, PSG remain unbeaten, and keeping that run going by the end of the weekend will see them maintain an unbeaten start after 20 matches for the fourth time in their history, and what makes that stat even more remarkable, is that only three other clubs have ever managed that, and they only did it once.
Recent results against Brest suggest it could be a foregone conclusion too, considering PSG have won all of their last seven games at the Stade Francis-Le Ble, maintaining a 100% record here since the Qatari takeover.
Brest's win percentage of 8% against PSG is their lowest against any Ligue 1 club, with just three of their 36 previous meetings ending in victory.
PSG are now 26 games unbeaten in this fixture, but Brest have come on leaps and bounds over the past 18 months, and should put up a very strong fight here to end that dismal run.
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Eric Roy's side enter the weekend on the back of three straight league wins, seeing off Le Havre, Rennes and Lyon, all by the odd goal, taking their win tally to nine after 19 games this season.
Another victory would see Brest win 10 of their first 20 Ligue 1 games in a single season for just the second time in their history, after also managing the feat last year, on their way to a top-three finish.
After a very shaky start, which can be forgiven due to their Champions League commitments, Brest are now catapulting themselves up the table and into the European picture again, sitting eighth, just five points off the top four.
Despite losing nine games already, picking up wins on a regular basis is allowing them to close the gap on teams like Lens, Lyon and Lille, who have all drawn far too many games so far this season.
Brest will hope for better fortune here compared to their clash with Real Madrid on Wednesday, where the European champions beat Roy's men 3-0, leaving the Pirates down in 18th, a little lower than where they were dreaming of placing midway through the campaign, but nonetheless a remarkable achievement.
Team News
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Brest defender Julien Le Cardinal returned to the matchday squad after a hamstring injury on Wednesday night, and could be back in the starting XI this weekend.
Defence remains an area of concern regarding injuries though, with Bradley Locko, Jordan Amavi and Massadio Haidara all out, but Luck Zogbe will be available again after not featuring against Real Madrid due to not being in Brest's Champions League squad.
Jonas Martin is the only other injury absentee for the hosts, as Mama Balde was able to recover from a brief knock to feature in the two matches this week.
PSG have a fully-fit squad for this trip to Brittany, with Nuno Mendes also available again after missing the Stuttgart encounter through suspension.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia can also feature after not being registered in Europe, but the new signing will have a tough time dislodging Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele from the side, given their recent form.
Dembele's hat trick on Wednesday means he has now scored 11 goals in his last eight games, while Barcola was unstoppable against the German side, scoring the opener, setting up Dembele's first goal, before more fine dribbling set up Desire Doue for an open goal which he inexplicably missed.
Brest possible starting lineup:
Bizot; Lala, Chardonnet, Le Cardinale, Zogbe; Camara, Magnetti, Faivre; Del Castillo, Ajorque, Sima
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Zaire-Emery, Doue, Vitinha; Dembele, Goncalo Ramos, Barcola
We say: Brest 1-1 Paris Saint-Germain
After an exhausting week for PSG, the level may drop slightly once again in this domestic fixture, as it did against Reims last week, and this plucky Brest side are capable of causing them problems.
While PSG are still unbeaten this season, four of the five occasions where they have dropped points have come immediately after a Champions League fixture, while Brest have taken 18 points from a possible 21 in their games straight after a European game.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
