October 18, 2024. 9:45 p.m. Monaco. Louis II Stadium.
French Championship. Day 8
Where to watch: RAINBOW
Suspension : André (Lille)
Injured: Diop, Balogun, Salisu, Zakaria (?) – Haraldsson, Ismaïli, Umtiti, Bentaleb, Santush, Mbappé (?), Mukao (?)
The French Championship resumes after the international break. This Friday, the central match of Day 8 will take place at the Stade Louis II, where Ligue 1 representatives AS Monaco and Lille will face off. The hosts currently sit first in the table, while the visitors sit in fifth, six points behind.
AS Monaco
AS Monaco began their Ligue 1 campaign with an impressive seven-match unbeaten run, a feat they achieved for the fourth time in their history. In their last away match against Rennes, the team won 2:1, with all goals coming in the first half. As a result, the Monegasques took the lead in the standings, taking advantage of Paris Saint-Germain’s second misstep of the season. However, there is still a lot of work to be done to truly compete with the Parisians over the long term. Moreover, among the top three in the League, the title has only been won once.
Monaco could have secured maximum points from the start, but a goal conceded in their home match against Lens tarnished their record somewhat, ending in a 1:1 draw. However, this loss seems insignificant compared to the six victories. They beat Saint-Étienne, Le Havre and Montpellier at home, while triumphing against Rennes, Lyon and Auxerre away. It’s worth noting that Monaco’s schedule hasn’t been particularly difficult, but they handled this section remarkably well, surprising with their unusual reliability in defense – conceding just 4 goals, the best in the League. Their scoring, despite the departure of their top scorer in recent years, Ben Yedder, remains impressive – they have only failed to score 2 or more goals once this season.
The added confidence for Monaco came after their Champions League matches, where they started with a victory against FC Barcelona. Although their second match against Dinamo Zagreb did not go as well as expected, falling 0:2 down before equalizing, they showed character in coming back to secure a draw. Next week, the principality club looks forward to a home match against Crvena Zvezda, providing a chance to extend their successful run. However, they must first try to defeat Lille. In April this year, Monaco succeeded, but overall the Mastiffs have been a difficult opponent for the Monegasques – they have only managed two victories in the last eight meetings.
Lille
Lille also have something to claim this year in the Champions League, having progressed through qualifying unlike Monaco, overcoming Fenerbahçe and Slavia. Their narrow victory against Real Madrid in early October was a real sensation. Additionally, they recorded wins against Le Havre (3:0 away) and Toulouse (2:1 at home) in the League. Currently, they are on a four-game unbeaten run in all competitions, starting with a 3:3 draw against Strasbourg. During this period, their top scorer in recent seasons, David, scored five goals.
However, Lille’s season cannot yet be called perfect, as after two opening victories in Ligue 1 with clean sheets against Reims and Angers, they suffered four defeats in a row, including two in the League. Although the home defeat against PSG was expected given the status of the opponent, the away defeat against Saint-Étienne (0:1) was an unpleasant surprise.
Overall, Lille found it difficult to win away matches at the start of the season, with only two wins in six matches in all competitions. However, both victories were well in Ligue 1 and were both clean sheets – against Reims and Le Havre. However, winning away against Monaco is a challenge on a whole new level of difficulty. The last time the Mastiffs managed this was in 2019, although they often drew at the Stade Louis II. Either way, coach Généreux’s team shouldn’t expect an easy schedule, as they will soon have to make a daunting trip to Madrid to face Atlético.
AS Monaco vs Lille: Expected teams
Diop, Balogun and Salisu are injured for Monaco, while Zakaria’s participation is in question. Gütters could also resort to rotation due to the long flights for some of his players representing their national team. Lille will certainly miss André due to suspension. Among the injured for the visitors are: Haraldsson, Ismaïli, Umtiti, Bentaleb, Santush. The participation of Mbappé and Mukao remains uncertain.
AS Monaco vs Lille: Author’s prediction
Lille certainly have the ability to spoil Monaco’s mood by becoming the second team to take points from the Monegasques this season. However, the hosts have repeatedly shown that they can surprise with steady performances. I expect the match to be quite goal-heavy, with both teams finding the net, and the total going over 2.5 goals.
