PSGvs.Brest

Luis Enrique's side ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in last week's first leg, leaving Brest with a task ahead of them that no club in the competition's history has ever been able to overcome.

Match preview

In the first all-French Champions League tie since Lyon beat Bordeaux 3-2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals of the 2009-10 season, there has already proven to be a much bigger gap between the sides in this tie.

Vitinha's early penalty and a double from the in-form Ousmane Dembele sealed an impressive 3-0 win for the French champions, who showed exactly why they have been the most consistent team in Europe over the past three months.

Having progressed from 17 of their last 18 European ties when winning the first leg, Opta give PSG a 99% chance of advancing to the last 16, where either Liverpool or Barcelona await - the top two clubs from the league phase.

The PSG faithful will hope that the team knuckles down and still takes the game seriously though, as they could move another step closer to breaking the French record for the longest unbeaten run against a single opponent.

PSG have not suffered defeat in any of the last 31 meetings with Brest, dating back to a Ligue 1 loss in January 1985, and the record currently stands at 34, held by Monaco over Montpellier between 1995 and 2018.

This fixture also provides Enrique's men with the opportunity to beat Brest for the fourth time this season, something they have not managed against a single opponent since they inflicted four defeats on Monaco during the 2017-18 campaign.

Confidence will be running through the veins of every PSG player at present, because a 1-0 victory over Toulouse at the weekend, despite some personnel changes, means they are now unbeaten in 18 matches, winning 15 of the last 16 in all competitions.

For Brest, this looks like being the end of a once-in-a-lifetime experience for their loyal supporters, because no team has ever advanced after losing a home leg by three or more goals in the competition's history.

Their record against PSG offers even less encouragement too, considering they have not won at the Parc des Princes in 18 attempts, last tasting success here in 1981, and knowing they need at least three goals to have a chance, Brest have never scored more than two at this venue in their history.

After an electric start to their debut Champions League campaign, the wheels have fallen off for Eric Roy's men, who have lost four of their last five matches in this competition.

The 3-0 defeat in the first leg also saw them lose a third straight home match for the first time in almost 12 years, and even though they ended that streak at the weekend, they could not prepare for this one with a win, drawing 2-2 at home to Auxerre.

However, there is still belief the Pirates could return to the European stage again next season, in a lower capacity, with just one defeat in six Ligue 1 games leaving them one point shy of the top seven.

Paris Saint-Germain Champions League form:

L

L

W

W

W

W

Paris Saint-Germain form (all competitions):

W

W

W

W

W

W

Brest Champions League form:

W

L

W

L

L

L

Brest form (all competitions):

L

L

W

W

L

D

Team News

Six of PSG's key players of late were rested at the weekend, despite this tie being all but over, and one of those was Dembele, who has unquestionably been the best player in Europe in 2025.

With 18 goals in his last 12 games, and 15 since the turn of the year, Dembele has already equalled his best tally in a calendar year, and we are only halfway through February.

The in-form attacker should return to the starting lineup here alongside the likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marquinhos, Nuno Mendes, Vitinha and Joao Neves, but Warren Zaire-Emery is set to miss out again with an ankle injury.

With Brest sitting one point off seventh-place Strasbourg, where they travel to next at the weekend, Roy could rotate slightly with this set to be the impossible job for the competition debutants.

The visitors will also be without defensive duo Jordan Amavi (hamstring) and Bradley Locko (Achilles), while further forward, Jonas Martin (muscle) and Romain Del Castillo (knee) are still suffering with setbacks, and were joined on the sidelines by Ibrahim Salah, who went off inside 20 minutes at the weekend.

Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:

Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Vitinha, Joao Neves, Fabian Ruiz; Doue, Dembele, Barcola

Brest possible starting lineup:

Bizot; Zogbe, Chardonnet, Coulibaly, Pereira Lage; Lees-Melou, Magnetti, Doumbia; Faivre, Ajorque, Mama Balde

We say: Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 Brest

The first-leg scoreline has already killed this tie off, but Enrique will not be taking any chances with squad selection, based on his rotation at the weekend, so PSG will be determined to get the job done as soon as possible here.

Written by

Andrew Delaney

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