Overview
Lamine Yamal's injury has had a major impact on Barcelona's recent form and results. The young Spanish striker is one of the most important players in coach Hansi Flick's pressing system.
The EURO 2024 champion's absence prevented Blaugrana from pressing in sync, leading to the entire system not playing as effectively as at the beginning of the season.
Therefore, in the two matches Yamal missed due to injury, Barca lost to Real Sociedad and were held to a draw by Celta Vigo. It is likely that Yamal will continue to sit out the match against Brest in the Champions League. However, the French representative is still rated much lower than Barca.
Brest are currently above Barcelona in the Champions League with three wins and one draw. However, they have an easy schedule as they have not faced any teams from Europe's top leagues, except for Bayer Leverkusen. Therefore, Brest's performance may decline in the near future when they have to face the "big guys".
In fact, Brest have declined a lot compared to last season. In Ligue 1, they are ranked 12th and have lost their last 3 matches. Therefore, although they are in a good position in the Champions League, Brest are likely to suffer a heavy defeat when they travel to Barca's field.
The two clubs will meet for the first time in a competitive fixture. However, Barcelona have lost their last two games against French opposition. However, they are unbeaten in their last 20 games against a team for the first time in European competition (W17 D3).
Human resources situation
Brest's Abdallah Sima is doubtful with a muscle problem, as is Pierre Lees-Melou, who also picked up an injury at the weekend.
On the other side of the front line, Barcelona still has a long injury list, including Ansu Fati, Eric Garcia and Ferran Torres.
Expected lineup:
Barcelona: Pena, Kounde, Cubarsi, I. Martinez, Balde, De Jong, Casado, Olmo, Pedri, Raphinha, Lewandowski.
Brest: Bizot, Lala, Chardonnet, Le Cardinal, Amavi, Camara, Lees-Melou, Fernandes, Balde, Ajorque, Doumbia.
The match between Barcelona and Brest takes place at 3:00 a.m. on November 27 (Vietnam time).
