Preview: Brest vs. Nantes - prediction, team news, lineups

Nantes will aim to take another step towards safety in Ligue 1 when they travel to the Stade Francis-Le Ble to take on local rivals Brest on Sunday afternoon.

The hosts secured a 2-1 comeback win over Saint-Etienne last time out, while Nantes enjoyed victory in similar fashion against Strasbourg in gameweek 34.

Match preview

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An 11th-minute Wahbi Khazri strike threatened to condemn Brest to a winless April after a poor spate of results since the start of the month, but a one-man showing from Gaetan Charbonnier saw Les Pirates turn the game on its head after the break.

Standing in for the suspended Steve Mounie, Charbonnier struck a sumptuous free kick in the 66th minute to level the scores before netting the winner 13 minutes later, and that 2-1 win saw Brest pick up just their fourth victory since the turn of the year.

Olivier Dall'Oglio's men had failed to win in five before coming up trumps at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, and they are now sitting pretty in 13th spot - nine points clear of the relegation zone with just four games left to play - so their Ligue 1 status should be confirmed with a positive result this weekend.

Brest's leaky defence continues to hamper their aspirations of a top-half finish in the top flight, but no team in the bottom half has scored more than their 47 goals this season, and a newly-confident Charbonnier should certainly help fire Les Pirates closer to a top-10 spot in the final few weeks.

Dall'Oglio's side are now welcoming Nantes to a ground where they have lost just one of their last six, and while they have recorded three consecutive stalemates at the Stade Francis Le-Ble, another one-pointer would all but erase any faint fears of a relegation dogfight for the inconsistent Pirates.

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Nantes also claimed a 2-1 win of their own in very similar fashion last time out, as Strasbourg took the lead through Ludovic Ajorque's header on the stroke of half time at the Stade de la Meinau last Sunday.

Antoine Kombouare's side took just eight minutes of the second half to respond as Jean-Charles Castelletto used his own head to restore parity, and Ludovic Blas soon netted a simple tap-in from Moses Simon's pass to boost Les Canaris' survival hopes.

Nantes' victory at Strasbourg was their first win since that shock 2-1 triumph at Paris Saint-Germain on March 14, but Kombouare's side remain four points adrift of safety in the relegation playoff spot, while 19th-placed Nimes are only behind on goal difference.

Thankfully for Kombouare, his side have friendly fixtures with Bordeaux and already-relegated Dijon to come after their trip to Brest, and they have only lost one of their last six on the road, but they are without an away clean sheet in 12 matches.

Nantes picked up one of their only two home wins this season in a 3-1 success against Brest on October 18, but Les Pirates welcome Les Canaris to the Stade Francis Le-Ble on a five-game home unbeaten streak against their opponents.

Team News

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Brest striker Mounie is back from suspension for the visit of Nantes, but the former Huddersfield Town man may have to make do with a spot on the bench as Charbonnier hopes to keep his place alongside Irvin Cardona.

Jean Lucas is also back from a ban and could challenge Hugo Magnetti for a spot in the engine room, while Paul Lasne has undergone successful surgery on a cruciate ligament rupture and will spend several months recovering.

Sebastien Cibois, Christophe Herelle and Romain Philippoteaux all remain out of contention, but the latter is expected back before the season reaches its conclusion.

Kombouare has confirmed that left-back Charles Traore will be his only absentee for the short trip across Brittany, but he is making a quicker-than-expected recovery from a thigh issue and should be back soon.

Abdoul Kader Bamba was not involved at all last weekend but is in contention to feature here, although it would not be a surprise to see Kombouare stick with an unchanged side from the win at Strasbourg.

Brest possible starting lineup:
Larsonneur; Pierre-Gabriel, Chardonnet, Brassier, Perraud; Honorat, Lucas, Belkebla, Faivre; Cardona, Charbonnier

Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lafont; Corchia, Pallois, Castelletto, Appiah; Chirivella, Louza; Kolo Muani, Blas, Simon; Coulibaly

We say: Brest 1-2 Nantes

Brest have virtually nothing to play for as the season reaches its climax, and that may be reflected in their performance, but Charbonnier will have an eye for goal as he aims to score in consecutive games for the first time in his career.

Nantes are still fighting an uphill battle to drag themselves out of the bottom three, but with Brest normally inconsistent at best, we are tipping Kombouare's side to produce the goods when it matters most this weekend.