For the fourth time in a European competition, Bayer Leverkusen and Monaco will tussle on Thursday at BayArena in Germany in the opening leg of their knockout playoff round tie in the Europa League.
Les Monegasques advanced to this stage by finishing second in Group H, while Die Schwarzroten were relegated to this tournament when they wound up third in the group phase of the Champions League.
Match preview
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It was a rough group phase for the Germans in the Champions League, winning just one of their six matches but maintaining their hopes of European glory thanks to having more head-to-head points than Atletico Madrid.
European competitions have not been kind to this team lately, with Leverkusen claiming victory only once in their last nine European matches, failing to find the back of the net six times.
Die Schwarzroten have faced Monaco in the Champions League group stage on four separate occasions, winning just one of their six meetings against them, though that lone victory came the last time they played Les Monegasques at BayArena in December 2016.
Xabi Alonso looked to be steering an inconsistent ship back on course for a while, winning five straight Bundesliga matches, though they have since dropped two of their last three.
When they can jump out to an early lead, Leverkusen have usually been successful, drawing first blood within the opening half-hour of their previous four victories, including last weekend when Die Werkself eased past Hoffenheim 3-1.
The eight victories they have collected after 20 Bundesliga encounters this season is the fewest for them to this point of a domestic campaign since 2016-17.
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Monaco have advanced into the knockout portion of this competition for a second successive time, finishing a point above the reigning Turkish champions Trabzonspor thanks to a 4-1 win over Red Star Belgrade on matchday six.
As a result, Philippe Clement's men have an opportunity to redeem themselves after a dismal showing in the knockout stage versus Braga last season when they were eliminated 3-1 on aggregate, losing the opening leg 2-0 away from home.
Les Monegasques come into this encounter having lost their previous three European matches versus German opponents, most recently losing their home and away games against Borussia Dortmund in the 2018-19 Champions League group stage.
Under the guidance of their Belgian coach Monaco have been an aggressive side with a high-risk, high-reward approach, particularly on the road, where they have only maintained one clean sheet in their previous 10 Europa League fixtures away from home.
They have, however, been more organised and compact against clubs in the French top flight as the visitors, with five of their six clean sheets in Ligue 1 this season coming on the road.
Since the top-flight campaign resumed in December, they seem to have settled down and are showing a lot more consistency, going unbeaten in eight straight domestic affairs, most recently beating the league leaders Paris Saint-Germain 3-1.
Team News
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Charles Aranguiz will not be available for Leverkusen until the end of the month because of a calf strain, Andrey Lunyov should be back around that same time from his sore back and Patrik Schick is expected to return from his groin injury by the middle of March.
Robert Andrich and Moussa Diaby, who had one and two goals respectively in the Champions League group stage, both found the back of the net last weekend in the win over Hoffenheim, with Adam Hlozek adding a third.
Lukas Hradecky is third in the Bundesliga for clean sheets this season with five, which is the same amount of goals that Jeremie Frimpong has scored for them in that competition, putting him second on the team, with two fewer than Diaby.
Malang Sarr remains sidelined for Monaco until the end of the month with a hip injury, while Vanderson is expected to be back from his sprained knee by then.
Wissam Ben Yedder has 21 goals in 35 appearances in the Champions League and Europa League, scoring with 32% of his shot attempts, and on Saturday his brace versus PSG moved him into second all-time in Ligue 1 scoring this century (140), surpassing Edinson Cavani and now behind only former Monaco striker Kylian Mbappe (148).
Alexander Nubel has five clean sheets away from home for Monaco in Ligue 1 this season, and his only one of the current Europa League campaign came on the road versus Red Star Belgrade.
Meanwhile, a hat-trick by Kevin Volland in their final group fixture helped them defeat the Serbians, enabling Les Monegasques to qualify for the knockout round playoffs.
Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Palacios, Andrich, Sinkgraven; Diaby, Wirtz, Hudson-Odoi
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Aguilar, Disasi, Maripan, Henrique; Fofana, Camara; Diatta, Golovin; Volland, Ben Yedder
We say: Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 Monaco
Monaco seem to come to life every season at the beginning of the calendar year, and their form domestically has been a lot more consistent when compared to their German counterparts this month.
Leverkusen have been better at home in the Bundesliga of late but have not been quite as sharp against the elite teams in Germany, and there is not much evidence to suggest they can improve their poor form in Europe.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
