The European Cup before its time. A few days before returning to the Champions League, Monaco and Brest face each other at the Louis-II stadium this Friday at 7 p.m., at the opening of the 12th day of Ligue 1. The two clubs, 3rd and 4th in the league phase of the C1, must collect points on the national scene to achieve very different objectives.
The club from the principality, runner-up six points behind PSG, is having a high-flying start to the season, slowed down by two consecutive defeats in Nice (2-1) and against Angers (0-1). But Adi Hütter's men were able to recover just before the break by taking three points in Bologna (0-1) thanks to Thilo Kehrer to half-heartedly validate their qualification for the C1 play-offs, then by overthrowing Strasbourg in the final moments thanks to a sparkling Eliesse Ben Seghir (3-1).
“The most important thing is to have bounced back and to be on the right track after our two very important away victories,” reassured Adi Hütter at a press conference. Enough to relaunch title ambitions on the Côte d'Azur? ASM has the opportunity to temporarily return to three PSG units, pending the capital club's meeting against Toulouse scheduled two hours later (Friday, 9 p.m.).
Brest in poor shape
Among the Bretons, it is more complicated in the championship. If it succeeds in everything it has undertaken so far on the European scene, to the point of practically validating an almost unexpected qualification for the C1 play-offs at the start of the season, Stade Brestois is floundering heavily in Ligue 1. The Ty Zefs are 12th , just three points from Saint-Étienne which occupies the position of barrage.
And to make matters worse, Éric Roy's players suffered a big defeat against bottom-placed Montpellier (1-3), who had nine losses in their last ten matches. By making trips to Monaco on Friday, then to Barcelona on Tuesday, Brest could see the end of its month of November spoiled.
Especially since Éric Roy will have to count on a greatly reduced workforce in the principality. “It’s a complicated return from the truce with a lot of absentees a priori,” he lamented before the meeting. Massadio Haïdara (muscle injury), Romain Faivre (ankle) and Soumaïla Coulibaly (pubis) will be absent, while Mama Baldé should return from selection very late. The French coach will nevertheless be able to benefit from the returns of Romain Del Castillo, Abdallah Sima and Ludovic Ajorque, his three strong men in attack.
On the Monaco side, Adi Hütter will be able to record the valuable return from injury of his captain Denis Zakaria, who has been absent for a month. Ghanaian defender Mohammed Salisu and Russian midfielder Aleksandr Golovin should also return to the Austrian technician's eleven, while Folarin Balogun will remain in treatment after his dislocated left shoulder. The American striker is still waiting for the green light from his medical staff and could make his return in the coming days.
