Monaco host Strasbourg at the Stade Louis II on Sunday evening in Ligue 1, with both teams in search of valuable points that could impact both ends of the table.
The home side are firmly in the hunt for Champions League qualification, sitting fourth in Ligue 1. With just the top three qualifying for Europe’s top table in the French first tier, Monaco will be hopeful of making a charge into the top three and booking their place among Europe’s elite. Les Monegasques are currently three points behind third-place Lens and five points behind Marseille in second. There is a 12-point gap to leaders PSG, who you would expect to cruise to the title, and a four-point cushion over Rennes in fifth.
Phillipe Clement’s side return to action following the international break after putting an end to a three-game winless streak in their last competitive match. Following the 3-0 home defeat to Nice, Monaco drew away to relegation-battling Troyes, before losing 1-0 at home to Reims. Clement’s men returned to winning ways with 2-0 away win over Ajaccio in their last game, where captain Wissam Ben Yedder opened the scoring to take his tally to 17 in the league this season. Krepin Diatta is also enjoying a fine campaign for the French Riviera outfit and the winger added his third of the campaign to seal the three points.
After an impressive season last year which resulted with Strasbourg finishing on the brink of European qualification, the Alsace outfit have fell away somewhat this time around. With just five wins from 28 games, Strasbourg find themselves battling to hold on to their Ligue 1 status, a status they have held since 2017. Mark Keller’s side sit in 15th position, just two places above the bottom four. There is just a three-point safety net to Auxerre in 17th, with Brest just two points away in 16th. It means another defeat could see Strasbourg could see them keeping out of the drop zone by just goal difference, depending on how the other two teams fare this weekend.
Like Monaco, Strasbourg also go into the weekend’s clash after ending their winless run with a win last time out. The Blue and Whites drew with Clermont Foot, before being defeated at home to Brest. They then picked up a good point away to second-place Marseille, before another good result at home to Auxerre in their last game. Gerzino Nyamsi opened the scoring early on before a late Habib Diallo strike made sure of the huge three points in the 2-0 win.
The last time these two teams met was on the opening day of the campaign in August. Diatta was on the scoresheet along with Sofiane Diop as Monaco came away from Stade de la Meinau with all three points in a 2-1 win.