When Monaco take on PSG, it's always a captivating battle. The champions of France and Europe are strong favourites to win this encounter at Stade Louis II, although this is not a straightforward encounter. Enrique's side have failed to win three of their Ligue 1 away clashes this term and will come into this after a Champions League engagement.
Monaco have won four and drawn one of their seven home encounters this term. They are an attack-minded side who also have a Champions League clash which precedes this encounter. This free-scoring team will be targeting three points in their bid to climb the table and ensure they get among the top four places again.
Match Result: Monaco v Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain are always odds-on favourites to win a Ligue 1 fixture. However, it's not too often that they're a backable price. Many customers will be considering the 1.57 that Luis Enrique's side are able to claim a victory at Stade Louis II this weekend. At the very least, it will be appearing in plenty of accumulator bets and the team have thirty points from thirteen games played.
On the road, the champions have four wins from their seven encounters. They've had more than their fair share of injury problems and Achraf Hakimi is among the players on the sidelines. They will come into this match after a Wednesday assignment against Tottenham, having come back after the international break with a 3-0 success against Le Havre.
Before the break, there was a thrilling 3-2 win away to Lyon where Joao Neves was able to strike at the death to seal the points. However, it laid bare the defensive vulnerability in the ranks despite having the lion's share of the ball. There was also the fact that PSG only had four shots on target throughout the game and it will give Monaco encouragement.
Sébastien Pocognoli's side are an attacking side who average more than two goals per home game. They have hit the buffers in recent times considering it has been consecutive 4-1 defeats against Lens and Rennes. Denis Zakaria was sent off away to the latter which led to an emphatic defeat and this came after a previous red card to Folarin Balogun led to a heavy loss.
It's not a good situation and they have a Wednesday night encounter in Pafos before preparing for this game. All things considered, this looks a good time for Paris to be playing this game and we think they should be able to take advantage.
Goals Under/Over
Over 2.5 Goals looks like a no-brainer in this game. The odds of 1.44 make it a 70% outcome and there's every chance that at least three goals will be scored. The more interesting goal line is the 3.5 considering that you can go over at odds of 2.10. This could well happen based on those recent 4-1 defeats for Monaco. They have defensive issues along with discipline letting them down and perhaps PSG can take full advantage.
Paris Saint-Germain have scored twenty-seven goals in their thirteen games and they're more prolific on the road than at home. There have been thirty-eight goals across their matches which comes in at an average of nearly three. There have been some crazy scorelines including a 7-2 Champions League win away to Bayer Leverkusen.
We know that this team can improve as the season wears on and really capitalise on defensive failings on the part of the other team. There's every reason to pair a PSG win with Over 3.5 Goals for some interest here.
BTTS
Both teams to score looks a likely outcome in this high-profile clash. The odds of 1.50 that BTTS Yes happens is trading at 66% and these are two attack-minded sides who are attacking with plenty of intention. The last time the teams met, we saw PSG claim a 4-1 victory although that did come after a 1-0 success in the French Champions Trophy. Previously to this was a 4-2 success for the French champions.
Monaco are a popular side on the BTTS Yes coupon. They played out a 2-2 draw with Manchester City in the Champions League earlier this term, although quite a few of their recent encounters have been BTTS No. Before those consecutive 4-1 defeats, four out of the previous five clashes in all competitions had seen at least one team fail to find the net.
When we look at PSG, we see a side who generally outscore the opposition and don't have huge emphasis on the clean sheet. The 3-2 success at Lyon was a recent case in hand. However, there were only six shots on target in that game. There is the potential for scorelines to be crazy when Luis Enrique's side take to the road. There was a 6-3 success at Toulouse earlier in the campaign and a 7-2 Champions League win away to Bayer Leverkusen.
First Goalscorer
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was among the scorers in Lyon and the Georgian could pose a big threat from the left-hand side. However, it's Joao Neves who appears to be popping up with some important goals. The Portuguese has found some real form in front of goal and has six in his previous four encounters. That includes strikes against Bayern Munich, Lyon and Le Havre as well as helping himself to a hat-trick against Armenia for Portugal.
Lee Kang-In was on target against Le Havre and the South Korean might get a chance to start another clash as he aims to get more goals, with Bradley Barcola also a potential option. There's no sign of Ousmane Dembele right now, with teenager Ibrahim Mbaye someone who could yet break through this season even if he's bit short of goals so far.
Folarin Balogun is a name you might hear plenty about! The American looks set to lead the line for Team USA in the World Cup and he's scored eight goals in all competitions this term. Aleksandr Golovin bagged a brace away to Nantes at the end of October, with Ansu Fati on penalty duties and the Spaniard enjoyed a purple patch at the beginning of the campaign although goals have been low on the ground since then.
