Brest vs Nice prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2024-02-03 16:05.
Given just a 0.7% chance of finishing inside Ligue 1’s top four by Opta’s supercomputer prior to the season, Brest are defying all odds. Sitting third in the table after 19 rounds of action, Brest again showed they’re capable of rubbing shoulders with the elite of French football when they battled from 2-0 down to claim a 2-2 draw against PSG, stretching their unbeaten league run to eight matches in the process (W6, D2).
With 35 points to their name after 19 rounds (W10, D5, L4), the omens would appear good for Brest holding their position, as five of the seven teams with that exact total of points at this stage of an 18-team season in the three-points-for-a-win era finished in the top three. They may yet have even loftier ambitions of climbing into second, a position they would end the weekend in if they beat Nice for the third time in four home H2Hs (W2, L1).
Alternating between victory and defeat across their last seven league outings (W4, L3), a win against Metz last weekend will mean boss Francesco Farioli is keen to see that streak end here. Concerningly though, all three of those defeats came on the road, where Nice haven’t won since October 2023 in league action (D1, L3).
That dismal away run has left them playing catch up to PSG in the title race, but with just one defeat from their last five Sunday-held H2Hs (W3, D1), perhaps they’ll hold a grain of confidence that PSG don’t pull any further away this weekend. It’s not out of the realms of possibility either, as they’ve already won away to two of the other three teams starting the round inside the top four, beating PSG 3-2 and Monaco 1-0.
Players to watch: Jérémy Le Douaron was Brest’s hero in this corresponding fixture last season (W 1-0), with that part of a run of five of his last eight goals opening the scoring. Tom Louchet is the only Nice player to score across their last four away league games, but with all five of his Ligue 1 appearances this season coming off the bench, any more away day impact from him could come late.
Hot stat: Brest have earned more points when trailing at half-time (eight) than any other Ligue 1 side ahead of the round.