On Saturday, Ligue 1 champions Monaco will take on Ligue 2 champions Strasbourg, a game in which Monaco will be expecting to win while Strasbourg will be hoping to stop their winless run. Both sides will play off the back of some disappointing results, with Monaco suffering from a thrashing by Nice, while Strasbourg lost at home to another newly promoted side, Amiens. Will Monaco recover with a big win over Strasbourg? Or can Strasbourg defy all odds by delivering a shock victory?
Monaco vs. Strasbourg
3-Way: 1: Monaco -323; X: +769 Draw; 2: Strasbourg +1850
Spread -2: Monaco +108; Strasbourg -109
Total +3.5: Over +112; Under -115
Monaco
Monaco suffered a humiliating defeat in their last fixture as they lost 4:0 away in Nice in the Cote d’Azur derby. The game started poorly for Monaco when following a break from Nice, a cross was put in towards Mario Balotelli who was brought down in the box clumsily by defender Djibril Sidibé, and Balotelli calmly converted the penalty he won for his team in his first start of the season. A second was added when forward Alassane Pléa was allowed space to cut in and shoot in the box after another quick-counter, and although the keeper got a hand to the ball, he was unable to keep the ball out of the net. Half-time came and Nice was in cruise control with Monaco struggling to get a grip on the match.
The second half started and took fifteen minutes for Nice to find a third through Mario Balotelli, as a low-cross found its way to the Italian with no Monaco defender near him, who had an easy time finishing past the keeper. Thomas Lemar could only look from the bench in despair, as he seemed to injure his thigh and had to be taken off, adding to Monaco’s woes. Nice finished the annihilation after Sidibe had Monaco’s only shot on target saved, which allowed Nice to break and play a wonderful ball cutting through the Monaco defense to attacker substitute Ignatius Ganago, who took it round the keeper and passed it into the gaping net.
Monaco’s capitulation was both horrendous and confusing. One must consider that Monaco had only just demolished Marseille 6:1 last weekend, a side that has been in excellent form until that game. In addition, Monaco was not missing any of their key players and should have been capable of at least losing respectably. On top of that, they lost to a Nice side who had a terrible start to their league, losing four of their five league games. One may point out that Nice’s last home game against Monaco was an indication of their win, beating Monaco 4:0 in September of last year with two goals from Balotelli again.
Monaco will be dejected by the result, as they should be as it will be difficult to keep up with rivals PSG if they drop points and lose so heavily to lesser teams regularly. Saying that, other than their last match, Monaco have looked very impressive and this may just be an anomaly. The current Ligue 1 champions now have two very winnable games to regain momentum, although they also have some Champions League games to contend with in between.
New signing Stevan Jovetic made his debut in the game against Nice but was unable to make an impact from the bench after coming on for Falcao. Starting ahead of Jovetic was another new signing Adama Diakhaby, who has scored once since joining, but was also unable to make an impact.
Manager Leonardo Jardim will be without keeper Loic Badiashile through an ongoing shoulder injury, but will otherwise have a fully fit team.
Strasbourg
Ligue 2 champions Strasbourg have now gone three league games without a win after they slumped to a 1:0 loss at home to fellow promoted side Amiens. Amiens opened the scoring with a chest down to Gael Kakuta, which he volleyed low into the corner of the net. Despite this, Strasbourg started well, going close to going 1:0 up after just six minutes when Abdou Mangane headed teammates Jonas Martin’s cross agonizingly wide. Another cross from Idriss Saadi met Ihsan’s Sacko head, but the winger didn’t get a clean enough connection with the ball.
Strasbourg continued to knock at the door, with one chance coming to Benjamin Corgnet as he fired from range but his shot was well saved. Their frustration unfortunately translated to their discipline, and the home side’s chances were severely reduced after an avoidable second yellow card in two minutes for Kenny Lala saw him being sent off. The red card ended their chances of a comeback and they finished the game as 1:0 losers, despite retaining 58% of possession and having ten shots to Amiens’s seven; and the better of the chances.
Strasbourg may look back on this result towards the end of the season with dismay, especially if they become involved in a relegation battle, which may be as a result of losing games like their last; a home loss to another newly promoted side. Further discontent will be that they have now failed to score in their last two Ligue 1 games, losing both games. With their next game being against the defending French league champions, Strasbourg is in danger of slipping into a downwards spiral of losses.
Le Racing two major signings, central-midfielder Jonas Martin from Real Betis and centre-forward Idriss Saadi have become regulars in the Strasbourg eleven, and have often been pivotal in their attacks and look like two beacons that could keep their hopes alight.
Manager Thierry Laurey will have a full squad roster for Saturday’s game.
Monaco vs. Strasbourg – MATCH PREDICTION
Both teams suffered from disappointing results, but no loss would have hurt or damaged more than Monaco’s, which is in danger of derailing their season if Leonardo Jardim fails to rally his troops.
Saying that, Monaco couldn’t have asked for a better fixture to help them regain their confidence, as the quality between the two sides is severely unbalanced. Top experienced players like Radamel Falcao, Joao Moutinho, and Kamil Glik should have the know-how to bounce-back and help the rest of their team to do so too, and will consequently be too much at home for a struggling Strasbourg side.
Overall, Monaco should easily have the quality to overcome their opponents and I would expect them to respond from a disappointing result with a big win.
MY PICK: Monaco -2 AH (+108)
