By Matt Smith
Monaco obtained off to a dismal begin within the Champions League, struggling a heavy 4-1 defeat in opposition to Membership Brugge. Maghnes Akliouche missed a penalty early on, with Brugge scoring 4 with out reply, earlier than Ansu Fati hit a comfort late on.
Metropolis secured a 2-0 victory over Napoli of their opening match, with Kevin De Bruyne making his return to the Etihad Stadium.
Group information
Monaco can be with no host of gamers for this one, with Lamine Camara, Denis Zakaria, Aleksandr Golovin, and Lukas Hradecky amongst these unavailable. Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is constructing his method again to full health, however he’s prone to miss out.
Rodri is in a race in opposition to time to show his health to face Monaco after he missed their house Premier League conflict with Burnley. Abdukodir Khusvano, Rayan Aït-Nouri, and Omar Marmoush are all unavailable, whereas Rayan Cherki is a doubt.
Metropolis again to their greatest within the ultimate third
Man Metropolis have regarded again to their greatest going ahead this season, with Erling Haaland having fun with a formidable begin to the marketing campaign. Pep Guardiola’s males have scored 2.3 objectives per recreation within the Premier League, creating 11.4 anticipated objectives up to now.
The resurgence in type of Phil Foden has definitely helped their trigger, whereas Jérémy Doku is starting to indicate why Guardiola wished to convey him to the membership. The Residents are searching for a fifth win from their final six video games in all competitions, as they goal to proceed their excellent report within the Champions League.
Champions League show an anomaly for Monaco
Monaco’s efficiency in opposition to Membership Brugge within the opening recreation of the Champions League marketing campaign was a little bit of an anomaly for the French aspect, who’ve loved a robust begin in Ligue 1. Their loss in opposition to Lorient final trip ended a run of three wins on the bounce, as they sit fourth within the desk.
No group has scored extra objectives than Monaco in Ligue 1 this time period, whereas they’ve additionally created 10.8 anticipated objectives, discovering the again of the online on 14 events. They’ll be determined to bounce again in opposition to Metropolis after such a disappointing begin within the Champions League.
Phil Foden the one to look at
As beforehand talked about, Foden is beginning to discover his rhythm after a troublesome 2024/2025 season. The England worldwide has supplied eight objectives and assists mixed in simply 10 video games up to now this marketing campaign, and he’s changing into undroppable in Guardiola’s aspect.
With De Bruyne departing, there’s been extra of an emphasis for Foden to be the goalscoring and artistic risk from midfield, and he’s displaying indicators of with the ability to slip straight into the Belgian’s sneakers.
Prediction
Man Metropolis ought to have an excessive amount of for Monaco on this one, so we’re going for a 2-0 victory to Guardiola’s males.
(Cowl picture from IMAGO)
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