Lens will be hoping to continue their excellent campaign by beating Brest in the Coupe de France on Sunday.
The hosts, meanwhile, are currently sitting in the relegation spots in Ligue 1, but a cup run could galvanise their season.
Match preview
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Having finished 11th with 48 points last season - their best total in France's top flight since 1990 - Brest would understandably have hoped to kick on this time around, but instead they look set for a relegation battle in Ligue 1.
The club lost faith with Michel Der Zakarian in October, before finally replacing him with a permanent successor in the form of Eric Roy in early January. The 55-year-old has only previously managed Nice, having been sporting director at Lens and Watford in recent years.
Roy is yet to win a league game with his new side, but a 2-0 win away to Avranches in the French Cup has been followed up by successive draws against Lille and Toulouse, suggesting they are on the right track ahead of another cup match this weekend.
Given that Brest have never progressed beyond the quarter-final in the Coupe de France in their entire history, Roy will sense a real opportunity to make himself a hero in May, even if keeping his side in the top tier will be his main priority.
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Lens, meanwhile, have been finalists in France's primary cup competition on three occasions, but have never taken the final step to lift the competition.
Indeed, Les Sang et Or were denied a historic domestic double when winning Ligue 1 for the only time in their history in 1997-98, with Paris Saint-Germain beating them 2-1 in the Coupe de France final that same season.
Despite impressively finishing seventh in each of their two seasons since being promoted from Ligue 2 in 2020, Franck Haise could not have realistically expected his side to be sitting only three points behind PSG in second place at this stage of the season, with his team sensing a real opportunity to create another golden chapter in the club's history.
While holding off the likes of Marseille, Monaco and Rennes to grab the second automatic Champions League qualification spot would surely more than satisfy the 51-year-old, he will be pushing his players hard to continue their winning momentum on both domestic fronts in their quest to go one better than 25 years ago.
Team News
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With both teams not playing again until next weekend, both managers are likely to treat this cup match more seriously than they did in the previous round.
However, Brest may not risk their captain Brendan Chardonnet, who suffered a dead leg against Toulouse last weekend. Jean-Kevin Duverne could replace the 28-year-old at the heart of the hosts' defence.
Roy is also likely to remain without the services of Achraf Dari (illness), Mathias Pereira Lage (ankle) and Romain Del Castillo (calf).
Lens, meanwhile, will almost certainly be without Jimmy Chabot and Wuilker Farinez for the rest of the season due to serious ACL injuries, while Adam Buksa could be missing until the end of the month due to an ankle issue.
Haise may be torn between sticking with the side which dispatched Auxerre last time out and handing a few squad players an opportunity to impress him, with the likes of Wesley Said and Alexis Claude Maurice potentially thrown into the starting XI.
Brest possible starting lineup:
Bizot; Fadiga, Duverne, Herelle, Brassier; Honorat, Camara, Lees-Melou, Magnetti, Douaron; Mounie
Lens possible starting lineup:
Samba; Gradit, Danso, Medina; Frankowski, Claude-Maurice, Fofana, Haidara; Sotoca, Openda, Said
We say: Brest 1-2 Lens
Both sides possess plenty of talented attacking players, who may be liberated without the pressure of competing at either ends of the league table. As such, we expect to seen an entertaining encounter at Stade Francis Le Ble on Sunday.
However, there is little doubt that Lens head into the cup tie in significantly better form than Brest, and they are therefore the more likely victors.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Brett Curtis
