Monaco welcomes Paris Saint Germain to the Stade Louis II on Sunday afternoon, with both clubs now solely focused on their Ligue 1 hopes for the remainder of the season.
The hosts were eliminated from the Europa League last midweek by Braga, while Mauricio Pochettino’s side beat Bordeaux 3-0 last weekend.
The termination of Niko Kovac appears to have already bitten Monaco, with Philippe Clement suffering a string of poor performances both domestically and on the continent in recent weeks, as Les Monegasques were knocked out of the Europa League in the last 16.
After a 2-0 loss in the first leg on Braga’s turf, Monaco fell behind 3-0 on aggregate after Alexander Nubel let Abel Ruiz’s long-range effort slip through his gloves and into the net, while Axel Disasi’s late header failed to inspire a miraculous comeback.
Monaco is currently in eighth place in Ligue 1, nine points below the Champions League places and six behind the top five, following a 1-0 defeat to European contenders Strasbourg last week.
Les Monegasques have only won one of their past eight games in all competitions, a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Marseille to give credit where credit is due, but four defeats in their last six does not bode well for a meeting with the league leaders.
Monaco might take heart from the fact that they have only lost one of their previous 11 league games at the Stade Louis II, albeit to an injury-plagued Reims, and despite having a wealth of attacking quality at his disposal, Clement’s front line has yet to gel.
The Ligue 1 title is now Mauricio Pochettino’s only saving grace after yet another Champions League defeat at the hands of Real Madrid, and his side at least managed to return to winning ways with a 3-0 victory against poor Bordeaux in the capital.
At the Parc des Princes, Kylian Mbappe, Leandro Paredes, and Neymar all scored goals, but the latter, along with Lionel Messi, were booed by the home crowd.
Pochettino’s requests for “respect” for Neymar and Messi may go unheeded, but Nice’s defeat to Montpellier HSC has allowed Les Parisiens to extend their lead at the top of the table to 15 points.
Indeed, following their Bernabeu collapse, PSG has lost three consecutive games on rival ground in all competitions, and has only won one of their past six away from home in Ligue 1, but Monaco’s flaws are there to be revealed.
Pochettino oversaw a 2-0 victory against Monaco at the Parc des Princes in December, seven months after PSG had won the 2020-21 Coupe de France final by the same scoreline, however their most recent visit to the Stade Louis II ended in a 3-2 defeat.
Jean Lucas returned from a domestic suspension to play 52 minutes in Monaco’s Europa League defeat to Braga, although Cesc Fabregas and Krepin Diatta remain injured.
Clement did not pick up any new worries in Thursday’s encounter, but he will surely make changes, with Aleksandr Golovin – whose late equaliser came from a corner – possibly replacing Sofiane Diop.
Although Nubel’s midweek gaffe is unlikely to cost him his spot, Guillermo Maripan is a contender to replace the recently-recovered Benoit Badiashile at the centre of the backline.