French side Brest will make their Champions League debut on Thursday evening when they host Austrian side Sturm Graz at the Stade Francis-Le Ble.
After an impressive 2023/24 campaign that saw them finish third in Ligue 1 and qualify for European competition for the first time, Brest begin their Champions League adventure with a favorable home game.
However, Brest started the 2024/25 season with a 5-1 loss to Marseille and followed that up with 2-0 and 3-1 defeats at the hands of Lens and Paris Saint-Germain respectively. With a 4-0 win over newly promoted Saint-Etienne, it’s been a tough start for the Pirates.
Things have been quite different for Sturm Graz at the start of the new season. The Austrian Bundesliga champions have won their last five outings in all competitions and currently top the league.
here it is 90 minutes Brest vs Sturm Graz guide.
location: Brest, France
stadium: Francis-Le Ble Stadium
date: Thursday, September 19
Start time: 8:00pm BST / 3:00pm ET / 12:00pm
referee: Nicolas Walsh (SCO)
WAS: David Coote (CAT)
Brest vs Sturm Graz H2H Record
Brest and Sturm Graz have never played each other in a competitive match.
Current form (all competitions)
|
Brest |
Storm Graz |
|---|---|
|
PSG 3-1 Brest – 14/09/24 |
Sturm Graz 4-2 WSG Tirol – 31/08/24 |
|
Brest 4-0 Saint-Etienne – 31/08/24 |
Ried 1-3 Sturm Graz – 28/08/24 |
|
Lens 2-0 Brest – 25/08/24 |
Sturm Graz 2-1 Altach – 24/08/24 |
|
Brest 1-5 Marseille – 17/08/24 |
Austria Klagenfurt 0-2 Strum Graz – 17/08/24 |
|
Newcastle 1-0 Brest – 24/10/08 |
Sturm Graz 2-0 Hartberg – 08/11/24 |
|
country |
TV channel/live broadcast |
|---|---|
|
united kingdom |
Application TNT Sports 5, discovery+, discovery+ |
|
united states |
Paramount+, ViX |
|
canada |
DAZN |
Brest are missing several players for their maiden Champions League meeting, with Romain Faivre, Pierre Lees-Melou and Bradley Locko all sidelined due to injuries. The latter will be out until 2025 after suffering an Achilles problem.
Brest still have plenty of quality in their squad and can rely on 6’5 Ludovic Ajorque to score goals. On loan from Mainz, he will be supported in attack by Abdallah Sima, who is on loan from Brighton and shone for Rangers last season.
Brest predicted line-up against Sturm Graz (4-3-3): Bizot; Lala, Chardonnet, Le Cardinal, Haidara; Camara, Fernández, Magnetti; From the Castle, Ajorque, Sima.
Sturm Graz return to the Champions League for the first time in over two decades, with the Austrian side having never reached the knockout stages of the competition. Christian Ilzer will have his work cut out for him this season.
Summer signing Mika Biereth will lead the line in midweek after joining from Arsenal and the young striker has already bagged three goals and one assist in the league this season. Brest will need to keep him quiet, attacking midfielder Otar Kiteishvili and deep-lying Tomi Horvat if they want their first European win.
Sturm Graz expected line-up against Brest (4-3-1-2): Sharpen; Johnston, Aiwu, Lavalee, Gazibegovic; Horvat, Gorenc-Stankovic, Kiteishvili; Ring the bell; Biereth, Grgic.
As both teams are inexperienced in the Champions League, it is difficult to predict what kind of encounter we will witness in the first meeting between the teams. In all honesty, it’s likely a delusional affair that they’re both desperate not to lose.
However, Brest’s superior quality, particularly in attack, and home advantage could see them narrowly win, as their recent poor form is easily explained by games against some of the more strong from Ligue 1.
