PSG v Brest – Brest profile: a painful end to the season | OneFootball

This Sunday, May 10, Paris Saint-Germain (1st) take on Brest (12th) at the Parc des Princes (kick-off at 9 p.m., live on Ligue1+) on matchday 33 of the 2025-2026 Ligue 1 season. And as before every match, here is a presentation of Paris’ opponent.

Brest’s situation –

After 9 years away, Stade Brestois returned to Ligue 1 in the summer of 2019. They have stayed up ever since, though not without some difficult spells. There was an attempt with coach Michel Der Zakarian, but it did not work out and he was replaced by Eric Roy in January 2023.

The former TV pundit managed to keep the club up and hold on to his job. The 2023-2024 season was one of glory and euphoria, with a push near the top throughout the year that ended in a 3rd-place finish and qualification for the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.

But it has been difficult to build on that. There was the huge joy of reaching the Champions League playoff round after a remarkable run, except PSG brought that journey to an end. And in Ligue 1, Brest finished in 9th place. That is not bad for this club, but it is less exciting than qualifying for Europe.

This season, after a transfer window focused on sales, Brest have gone through major difficulties. While survival is secured for the team currently in 12th place, it has not come with much room to spare. The last few weeks have been especially painful, and Eric Roy has opened the door to a departure.

The summer 2025 transfer window –

Source: Transfermarkt.

Departures:

Arrivals:

The winter 2025/2026 transfer window –

Source: Transfermarkt.

Departures:

Arrivals:

Main statistics –

This season, Brest have the 12th-best attack in Ligue 1 with 41 goals scored (leaders PSG have 70, while bottom side Angers have 27), and the 15th-best defense with 51 goals conceded (PSG have the best defense with 27 goals conceded, while bottom side Metz have 72).

Brest’s top scorer is Romain Del Castillo (a 29-year-old winger). With 8 goals, he ranks 24th in the league (Ligue 1’s top scorer is Esteban Lepaul with 19 goals). Ludovic Ajorque (a 32-year-old striker) is Brest’s top assist provider with 7 assists, ranking 3rd in Ligue 1 (Adrien Thomasson is first with 9 assists).

Brest’s last 5 matches –

Only Brest’s possession is listed, and Brest’s shots are given first (when the data is available).

03/14/2026 (Ligue 1) – Auxerre (down to 10 men in the 6th minute, 0-0)/Brest: 3-0. In a 4-2-3-1. 57% possession. 7 shots including 3 on target, compared to 9 shots (6 on target).

03/21/2026 (Ligue 1) – Brest/Rennes : 3-4. In a 4-2-3-1. 38% possession. 8 shots including 4 on target, compared to 15 shots (7 on target).

04/04/2026 (Ligue 1) – Nantes (down to 10 men in the 65th minute, 1-0)/Brest: 1-1. In a 4-2-3-1. 56% possession. 4 shots including 2 on target, compared to 15 shots (4 on target).

04/19/2026 (Ligue 1) – Brest/Lens: 3-3. In a 4-3-3. 36% possession. 5 shots including 3 on target, compared to 20 shots (7 on target).

05/03/2026 (Ligue 1) – Paris FC/Brest: 4-0. In a 4-1-4-1. 45% possession. 10 shots including 2 on target, compared to 14 shots (8 on target).

The squad:

Unavailable – Locko, Coulibaly (injury), Lala (suspension).

Probable lineup in a 4-2-3-1:

Ajorque

Mboup – Doumbia – Del Castillo

Magnetti – Chotard

Guindo – Le Guen – Chardonnet – Zobgé

Coudert

Brest’s style of play.

With defensive issues to deal with, coach Eric Roy has gone back to a slightly more cautious approach, with the idea of defending well first and then trying to hurt opponents by attacking quickly. That can also involve an intense press that can be very difficult to play through at times.

Then there is their quick attacking play, which can be very dangerous. The idea is not to keep possession for long. But this team know how to move the ball up the pitch very effectively. In particular with Ajorque, who drops deep well and can also act as a target man for long balls. PSG will need to play with rhythm and intensity to avoid the trap against a side that could be motivated by this trip as a chance to regain some positivity. But we have also seen that Brest can fall apart at the moment.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.