Stade Brest vs Le Havre Prediction: Brest must earn their “big boys" status.

Stade Brest are gradually getting a good grip of the second spot. The distance to PSG is still a mile away but they will be more than satisfied with their current position if the season ends in this round. With back-to-back wins in their last 2 games, they should not worry about a challenge from Le Havre who are struggling with bad form at the moment.

Le Havre are most likely going to continue in their suffering when they face Stade Brest. They have not tasted a win since their coup de France win over Chateauroux back in January. Another defeat would definitely see them drop even further down the table. As painful as that looks, the Le Havre fans would have to get used to that possibility. 

Stade Brest have a total of 43 points at the moment and are in 2nd place while Le Havre are ranked 14th with 24 points.

Stade Brest

So far Stade Brest have one realistic objective in the Ligue 1 this season and that is to qualify for the Champions League next season. Right now they are in a very good position to achieve that but they are not afforded the luxury of taking their foot off the gas.

Stade Brest are now unbeaten in their last 3 games and they won their last game in style. They defeated Strasbourg 3-0 in their last game at the Stade de la Meinau. Mahdi Camara was the star of the show after bagging a hat trick in what seemed to be an excellent performance for the Stade Brest. 

Stade Brest manager Eric Roy was pleased with his side’s performance. His 4-2-3-1 worked perfectly and he will be hoping for a similar result this weekend. There were lots of positives from the last game, with Stade Brest taking up more possession (52%), shots on target (8), big chances created (2) and counter attacks (1).

Eric Roy had the luxury of changing his attacking lineup during the game, with the game all but over after the 3rd goal. 

Ahead of the next game, Eric Roy will most definitely play the same setup and retain the teams sheet. Marco Bizot and Hugo Magnetti both missed the game against Strasbourg due to suspensions but they are available for selection in this game.

Le Havre

Le Havre had better prepare for the worst in the remaining games of the season. At the moment, they are struggling to pick up good results and they are only a foot away from drowning in the relegation pool. It's a test for both the coaching crew and the players and the fans hope both parties can stir the both off troubled waters.

Le Havre have suffered 4 defeats in a row. And the most recent was against Stade Reims. 

The game had a dramatic second 45 minutes after a cagey first half. Mohamed Daramy got Stade Reims the win with 2 goals and Abdoulaye Touré scored Le Havre’s only goal. Stade Reims had a man sent off in the 66th minute just before Touré’s equalizer but they still went on to win the game late. 

Metz FC manager Luka Elsner had a lot of questions to answer after seeing his side lose a game despite having the advantage of an extra man. He deployed a flat 4-4-2 formation but there was just no real hunger from the players. By stats, they managed 51% possession which is somewhat of a disappointment when they had an extra man on the pitch. Arouna Sangante, Loic Nego and Mohammed Bayo were replaced during the game for tactical reasons. All 3 players were not impressive on the pitch and Lukas Elsner might be considering making some changes to the starting lineup in the coming game.

Head to Head

According to the h2h, Stade Brest and Le Havre have played 18 matches against each other. Stade Brest won 7 games while Le Havre won 4 matches and they played a draw in 7 matches. 

Analysis and Predictions

Stade Brest are going to have to earn the “big boy" status by disposing off struggling teams such as Le Havre. Any results besides a win for Stade Brest will be a huge disappointment and it might just turn up the heat on the battle for the place on the table. If all goes according to plan, Stade Brest should be walking off with all 3 points in their pocket.

According to the h2h, Stade Brest have not kept a clean sheet in the last 3 meetings and Le Havre in the last 4. 8 of their last 10 meetings also ended with less than 2.5 goals and with less than 4.5 cards. 

• Stade Brest to Win at 1.696 Odds
• Stade Brest to Win at 1.69 Odds
• Stade Brest to Win at 1.60 Odds