Brest vs Paris Saint-Germain
All eyes will be at Brest’s Stade Francis-Le Ble, which could be the site of Lionel Messi’s much-awaited Ligue 1 debut for Paris Saint-Germain this weekend.
The Parisians have made a perfect start to the new season with two wins out of two even without Messi, Neymar, and other top stars, and they will look to keep that winning run going against Brest.
Messi has only just begun training with his new club, so it remains to be seen whether he will be ready to make his PSG bow this weekend.
If he does take the field, though, Brest’s already astronomical Ligue 1 2021 odds of mounting an upset figure to get even longer.
Talking Points
Messi, Neymar back in training for perfect PSG
PSG have made a perfect start to the season, with Mauricio Pochettino’s side winning their first two matches. After coming from behind to beat Troyes 2-1, they smashed Strasbourg 4-2 in their home opener, with three goals coming inside the first half-hour.
PSG have made a strong start despite missing a host of stars – Neymar, Marquinhos, Marco Verratti, and Angel Di Maria, as well as new signings Messi, Gigi Donnarumma, Sergio Ramos – after their busy summer.
Mauro Icardi has been given the chance to lead the PSG attack in both matches, and the Argentine hitman has capitalised by scoring in each of those games.
Kylian Mbappe, whose future in Paris has been a hot topic of late, has yet to score himself, but he has supplied two assists already.
Julian Draxler has started alongside Icardi and Mbappe in both matches thus far with Neymar and Messi out, but he and Icardi would be the most likely candidates to drop down to the bench if the superstar duo finally returns.
Messi and Neymar are already back in training after their extended break due to their Copa America commitments. A video of Mbappe setting up Messi for a goal in practice gave Paris Saint-Germain fans a preview of what is to come this season.
Pochettino will likely wait to see how Messi feels in the next few days before deciding on whether to hand his fellow Argentine his debut.
Brest out to spoil the PSG party
Brest could very well be the team to welcome Messi to the French top flight, and if their early Ligue 1 2021 results are any indication, they will not make it easy for the Argentine.
Brest, who just barely avoided relegation last season, have begun the season with back-to-back 1-1 draws against Lyon and Rennes. Although, they needed a stoppage-time equaliser from substitute Jeremy Le Douaron to claim a point against Rennes last time out.
Manager Michel Der Zakarian made some eyebrow-raising comments about Messi’s arrival at Ligue 1, and he will get the first crack at containing the new PSG star.
Der Zakarian is in his first season with Brest after four seasons at Montpellier. He led La Paillade to a top-half finish in all four of his seasons in charge, and he will be keen to do the same at Brest.
Der Zakarian’s Montpellier sides were known for their dogged defending, and he has been tasked to shore up a Brest backline which surrendered 66 goals last year.
And offensively, Brest have a talented young attacking foursome of Steve Mounie, Franck Honorat, Irvin Cardona, and Romain Faivre, who combined to score 30 of their 20 league goals last season.
History
Brest’s battles against Paris Saint-Germain have been as one-sided as it gets. The Parisiens have won eight out of their nine meetings in Ligue 1, with one draw.
It has been the same story since Brest returned to the French top flight in 2019. PSG won both meetings last season by an aggregate score of 5-0. They also met in the Coupe de France, which PSG handily won 3-0. Kylian Mbappe enjoyed playing against Brest as he scored three goals in those three games.
Betting Tip
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Brest vs Paris Saint-Germain | Paris Saint-Germain Asian Handicap -1.75 @ 1.78 |
| August 21, 3:00 (GMT+8) |
SBOTOP odds have PSG priced as massive 1.22 favourites over Brest, who are whopping 10.00 underdogs against the French giants.
With or without Messi in the lineup, Brest will face an uphill battle against PSG. The Parisians have too many attacking weapons that can hurt the home side.
I have a suspicion Messi will be held out for one more match and will make his debut the following week. Nevertheless, PSG should still roll to a comfortable win on the road.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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