UCL Preview: 'Invincible' Brest set sail for Barcelona

Eric Roy's Pirates set sail for the shores of Catalonia for their next European adventure in the UEFA Champions League.

Imagine telling a Brest fan 12 months ago: Stade Brestois will be defending an invincible record in the UEFA Champions League against FC Barcelona away from home. This is exactly the scenario facing Eric Roy and his Breton side in a Champions League campaign that has already seen wins against Sturm Graz, Salzburg, Sparta Prague, and a draw against German champions Bayer Leverkusen.

Les Pirates travel to a Barça side who already dropped points to a Ligue 1 side in the Champions League to Monaco on the first matchday (3-0). Yet, the Blaugrana have since won their last three games against Young Boys, Bayern Munich, and Crvena Zvezda. With Brest sitting in fourth, Les Ti'zefs have it all to play for in terms of qualification for the elimination phase of the competition.

There will be two big absences on both sides on Tuesday night. The Catalan hosts will be without young talisman Lamine Yamal, who hasn't quite recovered from an ankle injury. Brest has also been injury-hit in recent weeks. Les Pirates will be without their own talisman Pierre Lees-Melou, with L'Équipe reporting that the French midfielder will be out of action until at least the new year.

Fernandes: Don't underestimate Brest! 

Instead of Lees-Melou, Swiss international Edmilson Fernandes should be filling the gap as he has for most of the season so far. The midfielder scored in Brest's last outing against Sparta Prague and gave Barcelona a warning before travelling to the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. "They mustn't underestimate us! We're coming to give a good account of ourselves and get a result. Even though the match won't be played at Camp Nou, Montjuic is a very beautiful stadium, so we're going to do our best and make the most of the moment (smiles)."

"Yes, I'd love to score against them, I'm going to try anyway (laughs). One thing's for sure, though, and that's that we're going to do everything we can to put in a great performance in Barcelona."

Brest Team News & predicted lineup

Whilst Brest already knows they can't count on Pierre Lees-Melou, they will also be without Massaido Haïdara, Romain Faïvre, and Soumailia Coulibaly. Brest's Champions League goal-scoring specialist Abdallah Sima could be a doubt going into the game, but Ludovic Ajorque is fit enough to start.

Brest Predicted XI vs Barcelona: Bizot; Lala, Chardonnet, Le Cardinal, Amavi; Camara, Lees-Melou, Fernandes; Balde, Ajorque, Doumbia.

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