Monaco and Nice lock horns at the Stade Louis II on Saturday night in a crunch encounter in the race for Champions League qualification in Ligue 1.
The two start the weekend level on points inside the top four, but under increasing pressure from clubs below them in excellent form.
Match preview
© Imago
With France only being granted three automatic Champions League places, the vast number of clubs chasing qualification will also have their eyes set on finishing in the top three, in order to avoid needing to go through qualifying if they finish fourth.
Marseille fell short in qualifying two years ago, while Lille also had difficulty in edging past Slavia Prague this season, so removing that additional obstacle will be massive, and Opta currently give Monaco a 54% chance of finishing in the top three.
Nice meanwhile, have just a 22% chance, despite being on the same points and with more favourable fixtures to finish the season, but playing this important encounter away from home will be working against them.
Monaco will need to ensure they keep up their recent good form if they are to maintain their spot in third, with six of their final eight matches coming against sides in the top half still battling for Europe.
After a shaky start to 2025, Adi Hutter's men appear to be back on track, winning four in a row at home, and therefore providing them with the opportunity to win five successive matches at the Stade Louis II for the first time since the 2021-22 season.
No Ligue 1 team has scored more goals at home than Monaco (17) in 2025 either, and a 2-0 win on the road at Angers before the international break strengthened their chances further.
© Imago
However, Nice will provide a stern test, like they have done on their last two visits here, which both ended in victory, with that being the first time in their history that they have won back-to-back league games at the Stade Louis II.
Away form is on point for the visitors at present too, as Franck Haise's men enter this fixture on the back of consecutive 3-1 wins versus Le Havre and Saint-Etienne, and they could win three in a row while scoring at least three on the road for the first time in a decade here.
If they can breach the Monaco backline, Nice will also score in a 10th straight away match for the first time since the 1950s, but their most recent league assignments on the road have come against sides battling relegation, so this will be a noticeable step up in class.
A disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Auxerre before the break saw them relinquish their grip on third place to their upcoming opponents, and that came after a 2-0 loss to Lyon, who could leapfrog them in the top four if Haise's side fall to another defeat this weekend.
Team News
© Imago
Monaco will be hopeful they can welcome back a number of the players who have missed the last few weeks with injury, as Soungoutou Magassa, Folarin Balogun and Aleksandr Golovin are nearing closer.
Kassoum Ouattara and Jordan Teze have suffered recent setbacks and are also doubtful, but there was no injury involved with Radoslaw Majecki, who was dropped in favour of Philipp Kohn in Monaco's last outing.
The fitness of Vanderson and Takumi Minamino will be assessed with both players returning back late from international duty on the other side of the world, representing Japan and Brazil, respectively.
Melvin Bard's second red card in four games against Auxerre will see the Nice left-back serve another suspension, meaning Ali Abdi is set to return to the starting XI this weekend.
On the opposite flank, Jonathan Clauss will be available again though after serving a one-game ban last time out, and after being an unused sub in both of France's games against Croatia last week, he should be fit and fresh to go at right wing-back.
On the injury list, Terem Moffi, Morgan Sanson and Tanguy Ndombele remain sidelined, as they have been for large periods of the campaign.
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Kohn; Vanderson, Singo, Kehrer, Mawissa; Camara, Zakaria; Akliouche, Minamino, Ben Seghir; Biereth
Nice possible starting lineup:
Bulka; Bombito, Ndayishimiye, Dante; Clauss, Boudaoui, Santamaria, Abdi; Guessand, Laborde, Cho
We say: Monaco 1-1 Nice
Monaco are in good form at home, while Nice have been strong away, and were victorious on their last two visits here, making this devilishly difficult to call.
Even the league table can barely separate the two, who both start the weekend on 49 points, and it will be no surprise if the spoils are shared here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
