Brest vs Metz prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2024-04-06 11:00.
[p]After picking up just one point against Lens (1-0) and Lille (1-1), Brest returned to winning ways with a gutsy 1-0 victory over Breton rivals Lorient last time out, allowing them to hold on to second spot in Ligue 1. That triumph means that the Pirates have now amassed 50 points in 2023/24 after only 27 league matches – the quickest that they’ve ever reached that milestone in the French top-flight.[/p]
[p]If they’re to add to that tally on Sunday, Brest must end a current two-game home losing H2H run against Metz, having never lost three Ligue 1 encounters on the bounce at Stade Francis-Le BlĂ© in this match-up. Eric Roy’s side can look to this season’s reverse fixture – a 1-0 win – for inspiration, while they’re currently on an eight-game home unbeaten top-tier sequence overall (W5, D3) – their longest such run since a 10-match streak without defeat in 2011/12. [/p]
[p]Metz meanwhile find themselves 17th after being swept aside 5-2 by Monaco at the weekend, with the Maroons entering this matchday sat four points adrift of 15th-placed Le Havre and safety. Their total of just 25 league goals this term bizarrely equals their tally after 27 games in three of their past four top-flight campaigns – two of which ultimately ended in relegation – which hardly acts as a positive omen for their survival chances this time around.[/p]
[p]The Maroons certainly need to be more switched on at the start of matches in particular, having conceded four goals in the first 20 minutes across their last two outings against Monaco and Reims. That said, László Bölöni’s side can take heart from the fact that they’ve accumulated more points away from home this season (14) than at Stade Saint-Symphorien (nine), while Metz have scored six times in total during their last two visits to Brest. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Brest’s Kamory Doumbia came off the bench to assist the winners at both Lorient on Sunday and in the reverse fixture against Metz. The away side will be hoping that 19-year-old Pape Diallo can replicate his goalscoring appearance against Monaco last Saturday – his first-ever senior club strike. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Heading into this weekend, Brest have only conceded six goals in Ligue 1 since the start of December – the lowest tally across Europe’s traditional top five leagues in that time. [/p]