Monaco vs Paris Saint-Germain Preview:
Possible starting lineups:
Monaco:
Mannone; Sidibe, Disasi, Badiashile, Henrique; Tchouameni, Fofana, Diop; Martins, Volland, Jovetic
Paris Saint-Germain:
Navas; Dagba, Kimpembe, Diallo, Bakker; Pereira, Herrera, Rafinha; Florenzi, Mbappe, Neymar
Monaco welcome Paris Saint-Germain at Stade Louis II in a derby match of Ligue 1 this weekend. With an average of 5.4 goals per game in the last five league meetings, the clashes between these two sides are extremely interesting. But the results are not on Monaco side as they lost four of those five mutual games, drawing only once. However, the current season could be rated as successful for Monaco. The Principality outfit are sharing the fifth place with Lyon, Montpellier and Nice. All four teams have 17 points and they are just one point away from the Champions League spots. The actual form is also good, Monaco have won the last two matches in Ligue 1. They outplayed Bordeaux and won 4:0 thanks to goals scored by Ben Yedder, Martins Gelson and Kevin Volland (double scorer). In the last match before the international break Monaco beat Nica with 2:1. The victory is even more valuable as it was obtain away from home. Axel Disasi and Sofiane Diop were scorers on that match. The atmosphere in the squad is excellent, although coach Niko Kovac has big injury and suspension worries ahead of this match. Defender Ruben Aguilar is banned for this encounter, while goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte and Aleksandr Golovin remains unavailable due to injuries. In addition, captain Wissam Ben Yedder has returned from international duty infected with coronavirus. His absence is the biggest handicap for Kovac. Ben Yedder is the club leading scorer with 6 goals in the league.
Paris Saint-Germain are the leaders in Ligue 1 with 24 points. They have five points more than second-placed Lille and this should be another successful season. The problem is Arab owners are no more satisfied with domestic trophies. Nasser Al-Khelaifi is desperate to win the Champions League as he spent enormous money in new players. PSG are in excellent form in domestic Ligue 1, winning the last 8 matches. Even more, they have scored 20 goals on the last five matches. The Parisians beat Angers with 6:1, then won 4:0 against Nimes and Dijon, while scored three goals against Nantes and Rennes, winning both matches with 3:0. Coach Thomas Tuchel could be satisfy with the last results, but at the same time lot of players are not fully fit ahead of this match. Kylian Mbappe missed a couple of matches before the international break, but should be ready to play against his former club. Neymar, meanwhile, didn't play for Brazil in the qualifications as he failed to recover in time, but the club medical stuff is optimistic about the possibility to play on this match. However, the injury list is still big - Moise Kean, Pablo Sarabia, Mauro Icardi, Idrissa Gueye and Julian Draxler are all sidelined, while Marco Verratti is rated as doubtful. The situation with three South American internationals is very complicated. Marquinhos, Leandro Paredes and Angel Di Maria should return on Thursday and it is unlikely to start in this match . At the end I will mention that PSG will face Leipzig in the Champions League next Tuesday. Having on mind the Tuchel's side have already suffered two defeats in the group, the match against Leipzig could be rated as crucial.
Monaco vs Paris Saint-Germain Prediction:
I expect an interesting match at Stade Louis II, this is a big derby. However, the empty stadium is not helping Monaco players. In addition, coach Niko Kovac will be missing the best scorer Wissam Ben Yedder. PSG, meanwhile, have Neymar and Mbappe available. Considering the mentioned facts, I expect the reigning champions to win.
Monaco vs Paris Saint-Germain Pick: Away win @ 1.57 with Bwin
