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Both of these sides will simply be ecstatic to be involved in UEFA Champions League football after Stade Brest pulled off a shock third placed finish in Ligue 1, whilst Sturm Graz surprised many by managing to finish above Red Bull Salzburg and win the Bundesliga last season.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Thursday 19th September, 2024 - UK – 8:00pm / US ET – 3:00pm / US PT – 12:00pm
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – TNT Sports / US – Not televised
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – TNT Sports or Discovery+ / US – Paramount+ or ViX
BREST PREVIEW: THE EVOLUTION OF BREST
Under the management of former Sunderland player Eric Roy, Stade Brest managed to achieve a top three finish and a historic UEFA Champions League qualification. That achievement was despite the fact Brest had and have one of the smallest budgets in Ligue 1 and it was one of the best stories anywhere in European football.
After a bit of squad turnover over the summer, Brest have endured something of an underwhelming start to the 2024/25 campaign. They did take the lead at the Parc des Princes against defending champions Paris Saint-Germain at the weekend before they then suffered a defeat by three goals to one.
STURM GRAZ PREVIEW: THE NEW AUSTRIAN POWERHOUSE
Both the national team and club sides have shown Austrian football to be on an upward trajectory and they have two sides in the UEFA Champions League this season. Red Bull Salzburg have been the dominant force in the Austrian Bundesliga but Sturm Graz managed to take top spot last season.
The visitors come into this one on the back of having a week off domestically to prepare for this trip to Brest. Before the September international break, Sturm won four and lost one of their opening five matches in the Bundesliga and most recently defeated WSG Tirol by four goals to two a couple of weeks ago.
BREST TEAM NEWS: STILL NO LOCKO OR LEES-MELOU
Two of Brest’s key players from last season, Bradley Locko and Pierre Lees-Melou, remain unavailable for the home team with an Achilles injury and a broken leg respectively.
Brest are still ambitious in terms of the amount of attacking players that they start with as Romain Del Castillo, Abdallah Sima and Ludovic Ajorque are expected to form a front three.
PREDICTED XI (4-3-3): Bizot; Lala, Le Cardinal, Chardonnet, Amavi; Camara, Fernandes, Magnetti; Del Castillo, Ajorque, Sima
UNAVAILABLE: Locko (Injured), Lees-Melou (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
STURM GRAZ TEAM NEWS: FULLY FIT STURM GRAZ
Sturm Graz boss Christian Ilzer heads into this opening UEFA Champions League game with the blessing of being able to name an unchanged eleven with a fully fit and available squad.
The key men for ‘The Blackies’ are in midfield with Jan Gorenc Stankovic and Otar Kiteishvili providing a platform for summer signing Mike Biereth, who joined from Arsenal.
PREDICTED XI (4-3-3): Scherpen; Gazibegovic, Aiwu, Wuthrich, Lavalee; Horvat, Stankovic, Kiteishvili; Zvonarek, Biereth, Boving
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE:
KEY STATS
BREST VS STURM GRAZ PREDICTION
This one is a very difficult one to call. Brest have struggled at the start of this season as they try and regroup from departures and also deal with injury concerns. They now face a Sturm Graz side that are unknown quantity in this competition but have started the defence of the Austrian title quite well. Both sides may sense a massive opportunity to get off to a brilliant start here so both teams scoring may well be a good bet for this one.
BREST VS STURM GRAZ TIP: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE