The title outsiders welcome the Champions League outsiders to the Stade Louis II on Saturday afternoon, as Monaco and Reims resume their respective Ligue 1 campaigns.
Les Monegasques opened 2024 with a nervy Coupe de France penalty-shootout success over Lens, while their visitors enjoyed a much more routine knockout success, overcoming Dinan Lehon 3-0.
Match preview
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A straightforward passage into the fourth round of the Coupe de France was seemingly on the cards for Monaco during their recent third-round battle with fellow Ligue 1 powerhouses Lens, as Wissam Ben Yedder's first-minute strike preceded a Maghnes Akliouche effort just 20 moments later.
Adi Hutter's men would be forced to do it the hard way, though, as strikes from Faitout Maouassa and Florian Sotoca saw Lens complete a remarkable comeback to force a penalty shootout initially devoid of quality, where only three of the opening eight spot kicks made the net ripple.
However, the dreaded sudden death period saw Adrien Thomasson miss his 12-yard effort before Soungoutou Magassa propelled Monaco into the fourth round - where they will go toe-to-toe with Rodez AF - but thoughts now turn back to closing the gap to their fellow Ligue 1 title-chasers.
Thanks to a praiseworthy run of three wins from a possible four in December, Monaco currently occupy the third and final place on the Ligue 1 podium - two points worse off than Nice and seven adrift of Paris Saint-Germain - but they are also at risk of being caught by surprise package Brest.
Remarkably, Monaco's tally of 10 wins, three draws and four defeats is the exact same as it was at this point in the 2022-23 season - hardly a good omen given that they laboured to a sixth-placed finish that year - and their final home fixture of 2023 ended in a surprise loss to an out-of-sorts Lyon.
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Likewise, Reims also raced into an early two-goal advantage during their cup clash with fourth-tier Dinan Lehon, as Mamadou Diakhon notched a brace within the opening eight minutes of the contest, but unlike Monaco, Will Still's side would not suffer a defensive capitulation.
With Reims well on the way to the fourth round heading into the dying embers, Mohamed Daramy's 80th-minute strike extinguished any lingering doubt over the result, as Les Rouges et Blancs made it back-to-back successes after ending 2023 with a 1-0 success over Le Havre in top-flight action.
Still fending off interest from the Premier League in the up-and-coming Still, Reims are still dreaming the continental dream as they lie eighth in the Ligue 1 table - only two points behind Lille in fifth place - although their fortunes did take a significant downturn heading into the festive period.
Indeed, Reims' success over Le Havre marked just their second win from their last six Ligue 1 games - a streak in which they have suffered an alarming four defeats - and each of their last three top-flight matches on the road has seen Still's side come out on the wrong end of the scoreline.
Reims were also seen off 3-1 by Monaco during their showdown at the Stade Auguste-Delaune in October, but trips to the Principality often prove fruitful for Les Rogues et Blancs, who have won their last two Ligue 1 games at the Stade Louis II and have not been beaten away to Monaco in top-flight action since 2014.
Team News
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There was no Aleksandr Golovin in the Monaco ranks for their Coupe de France beating of Lens, as the Russian playmaker served a suspension for his red card in the hosts' 2-1 beating of Toulouse on December 20, but he is now eligible to return to the Monegasques fold.
Hutter has been hit hard by international call-ups, though, as all of Wilfried Singo, Mohamed Camara, Krepin Diatta, Ismail Jakobs and Mohammed Salisu are competing at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Takumi Minamino is away at the Asian Cup.
Monaco's injury situation is not so dire, though, as only Eliot Matazo (muscle) and Eliesse Ben Seghir (shoulder) are in the care of the medical team, and the beating of Lens also saw Thilo Kehrer make his debut following his loan arrival from West Ham United.
Similarly, Reims will also be able to call upon a previously suspended player in the form of right-back Thomas Foket, but Still can empathise with Hutter when it comes to losing a total of six troops to mid-season continental tournaments.
Junya Ito and Keito Nakamura are both gunning for Asian Cup glory with Japan, while a quartet of AFCON representatives in Oumar Diakite, Ibrahim Diakite, Yunis Abdelhamid and Amir Richardson will be unavailable for a number of weeks too.
In terms of physical glitches, ankle victim Marshall Munetsi is the sole occupant of a bed in the Reims infirmary, but the Zimbabwean midfielder should be back in action before the end of the month.
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Kohn; Maripan, Kehrer, Matsima; Vanderson, Zakaria, Fofana, Ouattara; Golovin; Ben Yedder, Balogun
Reims possible starting lineup:
Diouf; Foket, Okumu, Agbadou, De Smet; Teuma, Matisuwa, Khadra; Diakhon, Salama, Daramy
We say: Monaco 3-1 Reims
Success over Reims in front of their own fans has been extremely hard to come by for Monaco in recent times, but given their visitors' recent problems on the road, Hutter's men have a prime opportunity to end that hoodoo here.
Both teams have seen their ranks ravaged by international call-ups, but with a refreshed creative force in Golovin returning to the Monaco XI, we have faith in the hosts to come up trumps.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
