AS Monaco welcome travelling Tottenham Hotspur to the Stade Louis II on Thursday night still in search of a win in Group J of the Europa League.
Leonardo Jardim's men will be coming up against an in-form Spurs side that began matchday one with a victory and also have the recent Premier League scalp of Manchester City to their name.
AS Monaco
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Monaco have not enjoyed the best of starts to the new season, having managed just three victories from eight games thus far in Ligue 1.
Jardim will be particularly concerned by the way in which his side have thrown away games from winning positions, this weekend's 3-3 draw away at Guingamp providing a perfect picture of just how frustrating the new campaign has been for AS.
Monaco threw away a lead on three separate occasions in the fixture at the Stade du Roudourou, leaving the club floundering in eighth position and now eight points behind league leaders Paris Saint-Germain.
The coastal club have had difficulties to deal with off the pitch too after losing a number of players in the summer market, and their current form suggests that they are yet to really recover from the loss of a crop of vital team players.
Anthony Martial, Aymen Abdennour, Geoffrey Kondogbia and Yannick Ferreira Carrasco all departed in the last transfer window and AS have clearly looked bereft of both creativity and defensive solidity so far this term.
The Europa League can present an unwelcome distraction for some clubs, but this tournament may provide a relief for Monaco if they are able to find some form. However, they will need to improve drastically from their 1-1 away draw with Anderlecht in the group opener if they want to get any change out of an improving Tottenham side.
Recent form (all competitions): LWDLWD
Tottenham Hotspur
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Spurs come into the game on wave of confidence following their 4-1 demolition of Manchester City at White Hart Lane over the weekend.
That game represented the club's third Premier League victory in a row and saw standout performances from the likes of Erik Lamela and Eric Dier, as Tottenham turned a lacklustre start to the new campaign into one full of vigour.
Spurs fans will also be excited by the emerging partnership between Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min in attack, with the trio causing all sorts of problems for their last few opponents in the top flight of English football.
The Lillywhites opened their Europa League account with a 3-1 win over visiting Qarabag FK, in a game that saw Son take all the plaudits with a brace to lift his team to a comeback win a few weeks ago.
With a fairly simple three points already on the board, Mauricio Pochettino will be looking to claim an away victory on Thursday to help his side establish control of the group.
Not only does the fixture present Spurs with the chance to assert their dominance, but a win would also serve as a way of keeping their momentum going after some pleasing fixtures on the domestic front.
Recent form (all competitions): DWWWLW
Team News
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Spurs fans may get the chance to see Ryan Mason come back into midfield after suffering from a knee problem, while Mousa Dembele could make the bench following an ankle issue.
Pochettino is expected to keep on providing defenders Kieran Trippier and Kevin Wimmer with further European experience at the back, but Nabil Bentaleb and Alex Pritchard appear to be struggling to make the cut for the away trip.
Up front, it appears to be a three-way battle between Kane, Son and Clinton Njie to lead the team's line.
As for the hosts, it is thought that AC Milan loanee Stephan El Shaarawy could get the chance to lead his side up top, with further support coming from Nabil Dirar a little deeper.
Bernardo Silva should serve as the team's creative lynchpin in the middle of the park, while there should be a place in the team for leading scorer Thomas Lemar too.
AS Monaco possible starting lineup:
Subasic; Carvalho, Wallace, Raggi, Toure, Fabinho; Bakayoko, Silva; Lemar, Dirar, El Shaarawy
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Trippier, Wimmer, Vertonghen, Rose; Mason, Dier; Townsend, Eriksen, Chadli; Son
Head To Head
The pair are yet to meet each other in a competitive competition and have only faced up once before in a friendly back in 2013. Monaco were able to win that game 5-2 on home soil, as a Radamel Falcao double pushed the hosts to a comfortable win in the South of France.
We say: AS Monaco 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham come into this game off the back of some impressive wins in the Premier League, but will be facing a Monaco side desperate to discover some kind of resurgence following a poor start to the season. Pochettino may decide to rest a few players ahead of their looming Premier League trip to Swansea City, but the North London club should still get something away against a side that has already conceded 13 goals in eight league games this term.
Christopher Dodd
