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Monaco were top of the league until they suffered a 2-0 loss at Lille last time out - their first defeat since losing to derby rivals Nice on 22 September - and a result that saw their Côte d'Azur neighbours move into pole position in the table. Adi Hütter's side dropped to third, two points off the pace and a point behind reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain in second.

WATCH: Monaco lose in Lille

"I think our start to the season has been good. The loss to Lille wasn't part of our plan, we wanted to keep our unbeaten run going and there are a lot of things to improve, but after ten matches, our position in the table is good," said the Austrian tactician, whose 20 points from his opening 10 games in charge is the best return for a Monaco boss since Claudio Ranieri in 2013. "We're on the right track. Paris are still favourites, but Marseille, Nice, Lens and Lille are also good teams. There's going to be a lot of competition to qualify for Europe." 

The principality outfit this week added Amiens left-back Kassoum Ouattara to their squad as further cover in the position following Caio Henrique's injury. Summer arrival Mohammed Salisu is nearing a return to action following surgery to correct a pelvic problem, but he will still be on the sidelines this weekend, as will teenage prodigy Eliesse ben Seghir, who picked up a shoulder injury in Monday's training match against Lille's reserve team. 

Zakaria back

Vanderson (recovery protocol), Guillermo Maripan (recovery protocol) and Breel Embolo (knee) are also unavailable, but Denis Zakaria can play after serving a ban and could be employed in central defence with Hütter patching together a side and looking to pick up a fifth home win in six outings at the Stade Louis II this season.

"Right now, Nice are fantastic. Their defence is very stable, they don't score a lot of goals, but they concede very few, which helps them get results," said Hütter, whose side have scored 23 times and conceded 14, respectively 12 and 10 more than the league leaders.

"We're dangerous in front of goal, so defence is where we have to do a lot better. But it's not just about the defenders, but also the attackers who have to think about staying compact to keep our stability." 

Brest were also among the pacesetters early in the season, but after winning six of their first seven, they are now on a run of four winless games, including defeats in the last two - to Lille and PSG - which has led to Eric Roy's men losing some of their momentum and dropping to sixth in the table.

WATCH: Brest push PSG 

The visitors, who will be without Jonas Martin after the former Rennes and Montpellier midfielder suffered a thigh injury in the 3-2 defeat to PSG last week, could find themselves on the road for some time with their Stade Francis Le Blé home badly damaged by this week's Storm Ciaran.

"It's unstable weather and it's tough to train and play football. The wind is the most difficult enemy to control when playing football," said Roy. "We had to push back training to the afternoon. We didn't really do what we had wanted to do. We adapted our analysis of our opponents. They're little things and in no way will that be an excuse if we get a bad result in Monaco."

Probable teams

Monaco: Köhn; Singo, Zakaria, Matsima; Diatta, Camara, Fofana, Jakobs; Minamino, Ben Yedder, Golovin

Brest: Bizot; Lala, Chardonnet, Brassier, Locko; Camara, Lees-Melou, Magnetti; Del Castillo, Satriano, Le Douaron

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