Brestvs.Dunkerque

Off the back of victories over two top-flight sides en route to the last eight, the visitors now go in search of another huge scalp at the expense of their hosts who will be keen to avoid an upset on home turf.

Match preview

Despite being handed a favourable draw against National 2 side La Roche in the round of 64, Brest got their Coupe de France journey off to an unconvincing start courtesy of a 1-0 triumph on December 21.

Eric Roy's men claimed 2-1 victories over Nantes and Troyes in the next two rounds on January 1 and February 4 respectively, with Abdallah Sima netting a late winner in his side's most recent cup involvement.

Brest's aforementioned win over Nantes saw them come out on top in consecutive games for only the second time in 2025, but they have failed to win any of their subsequent four games across all competitions.

Les Pirates were held to a 2-2 draw against Auxerre in between humiliating 3-0 and 7-0 defeats to PSG in the Champions League playoffs before playing out a goalless draw away at Strasbourg on Sunday afternoon.

Having already been knocked out of the Champions League and currently sitting ninth in the Ligue 1 table, Brest's best chance of securing European football for next season could lie in the domestic French Cup, and they are potentially 180 minutes away from the grand finale.

However, Wednesday's hosts have not fared well in front of their fans of late with no wins and 13 goals conceded over their last four matches since winning five straight home matches either side of the new year.

One of four non-Ligue 1 sides currently in the last eight of this year's Coupe de France, Dunkerque kicked off their cup journey with wins over Bethune and Aubervilliers in the preliminary phase before knocking out Auxerre in the round of 64.

Luis Castro's men saw off Haguenau in the next stage before securing perhaps the biggest shock victory of this year's tournament when they overcame Lille via penalties in the round of 16 earlier this month.

Staring down the barrel of a narrow defeat at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Les Maritimes got themselves back on level terms in second-half stoppage time through Kay Tejan before goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen held his nerve from 12 yards to convert the winning spot-kick.

The victory over Lille was the first of a four-game winning run for Dunkerque, who are knocking on the door of automatic promotion to the French top flight as they currently sit third in the Ligue 2 standings.

Now with the opportunity to equal their best-ever performance at this level, which came back in 1920, Wednesday's visitors will have every reason to believe they can come out on top away from home, where they are unbeaten in 10 of the last 11 games.

Brest Coupe de France form:

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Brest form (all competitions):

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L

D

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D

Dunkerque Coupe de France form:

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Dunkerque form (all competitions):

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L

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Team News

Brest's Jordan Amavi is not available for selection here due to a torn hamstring he suffered against Olympique Lyon back in early January.

Fellow Frenchmen Romain Del Castillo and Bradley Locko are ruled out through knee and Achilles tendon injuries respectively, although the latter is relatively closer to a return to action.

Forward Ibrahim Salah is set to sit out a third straight game with a foot injury which saw him come off in the first half of a clash against Auxerre two weeks ago.

Marco Essimi and Nehemiah Fernandez are both ruled out for Dunkerque due to muscle injuries, while Nurio Fortuna misses out with a thigh issue.

The away side will also be without the services of Allan Linguet for Wednesday's clash, and the 25-year-old is joined on the sidelines by Diogo Queiros.

Brest possible starting lineup:

Bizot; Haidara, Coulibaly, Chardonnet, Lala; Lees-Melou, Camara; Magnetti, Doumbia, Pereira; Balde

Dunkerque possible starting lineup:

Ortola; Georgen, Sangante, Sasso, Abner; Raghouber; Yassine, Bardeli, Skytta, Al Saad; Courtet

We say: Brest 3-1 Dunkerque

Written by

Adepoju Marvellous

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