Following a massive setback last weekend, Monaco return to Stade Louis II on Sunday with a chance to stretch their unbeaten run at home in Ligue 1 to three matches when they host Montpellier HSC.
The Champions League aspirations of Les Monegasques suffered a blow when they were beaten 3-0 at Lens, while La Paillade ended a three-match winless run by defeating Rennes 1-0.
Match preview
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Only six games remain in this competition, and at the moment, even a qualification spot for next season's Champions League is looking grim for Philippe Clement and his team.
They came to Stade Bollaert-Delelis with a chance to move up to third in the table, but the team came out flat from the opening whistle, trailing by two goals after a mere 16 minutes, finishing the match with just 37% possession, while suffering their third defeat of the campaign by three goals.
Should they fail to get into a top-three position by the end of the campaign, Monaco will only have themselves to blame, squandering seven points from winning positions versus two of the three teams currently above them (Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille), while losing twice to Les Sang et Or, who are now five points clear of Les Monegasques in third.
Monaco have not had much trouble disposing of Montpellier at Stade Louis II in this competition, losing just two of 28 domestic matches played there.
After a two-match goalless drought where they lost to Nice (3-0) and Reims (1-0) in late February and early March, Les Monegasques have rediscovered their scoring touch at home, with seven goals in their last two encounters in the Principality.
Les Monegasques have not won a single domestic encounter this year when conceding the opening goal but are unbeaten in 2023 when the opposite occurs.
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A late goal at home to Stade Rennais last Sunday has Michel Der Zakarian and Montpellier breathing a little easier, as they are now eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Sunday will be the first of two successive Ligue 1 road fixtures for La Paillade, who have failed to hang onto a one-goal lead in back-to-back away games versus Marseille (1-1) and Lille (2-1).
Those dropped points follow a familiar trend for this team against sides near the top of the table, with Montpellier losing seven of their nine matches played this season versus teams currently in the top five.
Although their form has dropped a little this month, Der Zakarian has had a relatively successful second spell as manager of La Paillade, with his team collecting 20 points in league play since his appointment ahead of matchday 23.
Since the beginning of the domestic campaign, they have held their own when playing on the road, earning points in seven contests, five of which were clean sheets.
Their defensive record against Les Monegasques has been far from stellar though, as Montpellier have conceded multiple times against them in four successive league fixtures, while they have only earned points in three of their last eight visits to Stade Louis II.
Team News
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Monaco are expected to be without Malang Sarr and Breel Embolo until early May, as the former is suffering from abdominal pain and the latter has a sprained knee, Gelson Martins is dealing with personal issues, while Aleksandr Golovin picked up a knock in the pre-match versus Lens but should be available this weekend, as should Ruben Aguilar, who is fit once again.
Wissam Ben Yedder is without a goal in his last four domestic affairs as he remains tied for fifth in Ligue 1 scoring (17), while Golovin, Krepin Diatta and Kevin Volland each found the back of the net in their previous home fixture which they won, 3-1, against Lorient.
Last October, Embolo and Myron Boadu scored in a 2-0 win over Montpellier, with Alexander Nubel making eight stops in that encounter for the clean sheet.
Beni Makouana, Maxime Esteve and Theo Sainte-Luce are all expected to be out of the lineup for La Paillade until early May due to thigh, groin and calf injuries respectively, while Teji Savanier will not be available following his straight red card in their victory over Rennes.
Stephy Mavididi notched his third of the campaign last weekend, while Benjamin Lecomte made four saves to collect his first clean sheet since the middle of March.
Their leading goalscorer Elye Wahi has not found the back of the net in consecutive contests, while former Monaco striker Valere Germain has only netted twice all season, two fewer than he had in their previous campaign.
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Aguilar, Disasi, Maripan, Henrique; Fofana, Camara; Vanderson, Golovin; Ben Seghir, Ben Yedder
Montpellier HSC possible starting lineup:
Lecomte; Sacko, Jullien, Kouyate, Sylla; Chotard, Ferri; Nordin, Khazri, Mavididi; Wahi
We say: Monaco 2-1 Montpellier HSC
Of the 27 teams that Monaco have faced at least 30 times in Ligue 1, they have been the most successful against Montpellier, with a top-flight winning percentage of 56.1%.
Besides that, Les Monegasques have looked incredibly potent in the attacking third at home, while the suspension of Savanier could leave Wahi stranded up front and make life easier for the home team to contain him.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
