Ligue 1: Can AS Monaco pull off an upset against PSG?
© AS Monaco
Monaco is playing the league leaders at 9 pm tonight, Friday, at the Stade Louis-II for the top-of-the-table clash on match day 24. What can we expect?
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‘Strong against the strong and in trouble against the weaker sides’ sums up what we’ve seen from Monaco so far this season.
With 22 points earned at the expense of teams in the top 9 since the start of the campaign, the Monegasques hardly ever disappoint against the league’s big guns, as witnessed by their recent victory at RC Lens.
“When a team sets up a very defensive system, it is much more difficult to find the openings. This requires more concentration, and not making easy mistakes in dangerous areas,” said Guillermo Maripan in the pre-match press conference, in an effort to explain disappointments against the ‘minnows’ and good performances against the ‘big boys’.
“It has perhaps been more difficult for us at home recently for this reason, as we have faced opponents who sit back.”
Taking on Paris Saint-Germain feels like a big ask this time, however, with a number of players missing the game (Vanderson, Zakaria, Camara, Diatta, Jakobs, etc.). But the Monegasque squad is ambitious, as Adi Hütter recently declared.
AS Monaco performs better against the top teams
“Paris is the best team in France and one of the best in Europe, and they have some great players. But I’m convinced that we can beat them if we put our ideas into practice. I won’t need to motivate my players, we’ll stay focused on our game.”
Paris Saint-Germain is a team that tends to suit the Monegasques quite well, as Guillermo Maripan pointed out. “We know that we are capable of putting in a big performance, and we have shown it in the past by winning the last three times against them at the Stade Louis-II.”
Radoslaw Majecki, who came on against Lens in place of Philipp Köhn, is expected to feature in the starting line-up, while Wilfried Singo could make up for Vanderson’s absence on the right flank and Soungoutou Magassa could move up a notch to replace Denis Zakaria and Mohamed Camara.
In attack, the Monegasques will be able to rely on Folarin Balogun, Alexandr Golovin and Takumi Minamino, who shone at Lens, as Guillermo Maripan stressed. “Taki’ really has special qualities, he’s a great player and he showed that in Lens, by being as present offensively as in his defensive duties. He helps us a lot in his position.”
The Parisians, meanwhile, will be keen to get back to winning ways after their draw with Stade Rennais at the Parc des Princes last time out. Kylian Mbappé will be up front, for what might be his final appearance at the Stade Louis-II in a Paris Saint-Germain shirt, since he is due to join Real Madrid next season.
The Red & Whites’ coach and players are looking forward to meeting the Parisians this Friday at Louis II, in front of an expected full house. The Monegasques can also count on the support of their chairman. Dmitry Rybolovlev has attended several of AS Monaco’s recent home and away matches, and has often been seen at the Performance Centre in recent weeks. His support is much appreciated by the AS Monaco players, as Guillermo Maripan mentioned.
“He has always been behind us. I am very happy to see him more, and that he is more present at the Club or with the team.”
Probable line-ups:
AS Monaco : Majecki – Kehrer, Maripan, Salisu – Singo, Magassa, Fofana, Ouattara – Minamino, Golovin – Balogun
Paris Saint-Germain : Donnarumma – Soler, Danilo, Beraldo, Hernandez – Zaïre-Emery, Ruiz, Ugarte – Barcola, Mbappé, Dembélé