Brest preview

• Have only lost once so far this season and a victory would put them top of the table.
• Won 4 out of 5 home games and have looked strong under new coach Jean Marc Furlan.
• Key experienced playmaker Bruno Grougi is still injured, whilst starting right back Gaetan Belaud is suspended.
• Generally quite a proactive team under Furlan and heading into the round they were the highest scoring team in the division.

Strasbourg preview

• After an encouraging start to the season, Strasbourg have now only won 1 of their last 7 games.
• A disappointing defeat at home to Valenciennes (2-4) last time out saw them reduced to 10 men before half time.
• As a result, centre back Felipe Saad and playmaker Dimitri Lienard are suspended today. Their only injury of note is to pacey striker Stephane Bahoken who is ruled out with a thigh injury until November.
• RCS have only won a single away match so far this season, but also only suffered one defeat on their travels.

Conclusion & betting analysis

• A battle between two promotion contenders but it’s Brest who have been performing better recently.
• Strasbourg seem to have lost their way a little bit and need to come back strongly in what will be a really difficult fixture for them.
• Apart from one match in which Clermont surprisingly beat them, Brest have been imperious at home and seem to have a knack of scoring at the right time.
• The hosts are on a -0.25 handicap @ around the 1.95 mark. This seems pretty fair to me and I don’t personally see a lot of difference between the two sides on paper.
• Strasbourg will keep it close, they have the potential to defend well. But Brest have a knack of winning games so maybe they might find a way to sneak a 1-0 win.
• I’m happy not to bet on the game because in my experience these sort of clashes can be quite close and tight. If the match ended 0-0 it wouldn’t surprise me.

Prediction: 1-0

Recommended bet: None