Aston Villa will be eager to take a step closer to reaching the knockout stage of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League when they take on AS Monaco at Stade Louis II on Tuesday.
The UEFA Champions League resumes after over a month with Matchday 7, with only one more round of fixtures remaining after this. Tuesday will feature 11 games, with the action on the day kicking off with two simultaneous matches, including AS Monaco vs Aston Villa at Stade Louis II.
AS Monaco could not have asked for a better start to the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League, as they beat Barcelona 2-1 at home on Matchday 1. The Ligue 1 giants were unbeaten in their first four outings in Europe but have lost their two most recent ties. Those defeats have left Adi Hutter’s men 16th in the standings.
Meanwhile, 2025 has not started well for AS Monaco, with the principality club yet to win a game this year. That has not been the case for Aston Villa, with the West Midlands club currently on a five-match unbeaten run, including an impressive 2-2 draw against Arsenal this past weekend.
The Villans have been one of the most impressive teams in the UEFA Champions League, as they are in the fourth spot in the standings after the first six rounds of fixtures. Unai Emery’s men have lost only once while winning four games, with the most victory coming against RB Leipzig on Matchday 6.
Tuesday’s clash will be the first-ever match featuring AS Monaco and Aston Villa, and The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the maiden meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
AS Monaco
Adi Hutter does not have any new injury concerns hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The AS Monaco manager might 0be bereft of the services of five first-team players vs Aston Villa on Tuesday.
Folarin Balogun is the most notable absentee, with the former Arsenal striker recovering from a should injury. The 23-year-old accompanies George Ilenikhena (groin) and Krepin Diatta (muscle) on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Wilfried Singo (back) and Denis Zakaria (illness) face late fitness tests to determine their availability.
Radoslaw Majecki will take his spot between the sticks, with AS Monaco lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Aston Villa on Tuesday. The backline should feature Vanderson, Thilo Kehrer, Mohammed Salisu, and Caio Henrique.
As for the midfield unit, Soungoutou Magassa will pair up with Lamine Camara in the double pivot. Aleksandr Golovin will reprise the no. 10 role, with Maghnes Akliouche and Eliesse Ben Seghir being the two wide attackers. Finally, Breel Embolo should lead the line for AS Monaco against Aston Villa.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Majecki; Vanderson, Kehrer, Salisu, Henrique; Magassa, Camara; Akliouche, Golovin, Ben Seghir; Embolo
Aston Villa
Unlike his counterpart in the AS Monaco dugout, Unai Emery has greeted a mixed bag of updates on the team news front ahead of the trip to Stade Louis II. The Aston Villa manager will be without five first-team players on Tuesday.
John McGinn has resumed training after recovering from a hamstring injury. However, Tuesday’s game might have come too soon for the Aston Villa captain, who will miss out against AS Monaco. Amadou Onana picked up a knock this past weekend against Arsenal and accompanies Pau Torres (ankle) and Ross Barkley (calf) on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Diego Carlos is closing in on joining Fenerbahce and will not feature on Tuesday.
Emiliano Martinez is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Aston Villa lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs AS Monaco on Tuesday. The backline should feature Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, and Lucas Digne.
As for the midfield unit, Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans should pair up in the double pivot, with Morgan Rogers reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Ollie Watkins will spearhead the Aston Villa attack against AS Monaco on Tuesday, with Leon Bailey and Jacob Ramsey being the two wide attackers. So, Jhon Duran will be a backup option on the bench for the away side.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; Bailey, Rogers, Ramsey; Watkins
Key Stats
- Tuesday’s clash will be the first meeting between AS Monaco and Aston Villa. The Ligue giants have won four of their last five home games against English sides in the UEFA Champions League (L1), all of which have come against different teams (Chelsea and Liverpool in 2004, Tottenham Hotspur in 2016 and Manchester City in 2017). However, the Villans are winless in their four away matches against French sides in Europe (D2 L2), with the most recent of those coming last season in a defeat away to Lille in the UEFA Europa Conference League (1-2 in the quarter-final second leg in April).
- AS Monaco were unbeaten in their opening four games in the UEFA Champions League this season (W3 D1) but have since lost the last two against Benfica (2-3) and Arsenal (0-3). They have never previously conceded 3+ goals in three consecutive matches in the European Cup/Champions League.
- Only Atalanta (9), Liverpool (9) and Feyenoord (7) have won more points in Champions League away games thus far this season than Aston Villa (6), with the Villans scoring three goals in their two away victories in the competition (3-0 vs BSC Young Boys, 3-2 vs RB Leipzig).
- Nine of AS Monaco’s 12 goals in the UEFA Champions League this season have come across their three home games, with the French side last netting more on home turf in a group stage campaign in the competition in 2003/04 (13 in 3 games).
- Unai Emery has won his last six games against AS Monaco across all competitions (all in charge of Paris Saint-Germain), with the aggregate scoreline of those games being 23-4. His last game against them was a 7-1 victory in a Ligue 1 clash in April 2018. Among managers with 10+ wins in the UEFA Champions League, Emery has the highest average margin of victory in the competition’s history (+2.9 from 26 wins overall).
Player to Watch
Jhon Duran
While Ollie Watkins remains the first-choice striker for Aston Villa, a closely contested match will mean Unai Emery will need his super-sub to deliver the goods in the final third. So, Jhon Duran is our Player to Watch for Tuesday’s Champions League game.
Duran has scored three goals in only six UEFA Champions League appearances despite starting just one of those matches (vs Bologna). The only players to net as often for an English club in the competition at a more frequent rate than the Colombian (68 minutes) are Lucas Perez (45 for Arsenal), Demba Ba (55 for Chelsea), Faustino Asprilla (58 for Newcastle United), and Alvaro Negredo (65 for Manchester City). Expect more fireworks from the young attacker.
Prediction
AS Monaco 2-3 Aston Villa
AS Monaco’s bright start to the 2024/25 season has slowly disappeared into the abyss, with the Ligue 1 giants struggling for wins. With Aston Villa improving again with each performance, the visitors will fancy their prospects this midweek.
However, the Villans have been defensively vulnerable this season, with injuries to pivotal stars affecting their consistency at the back. So, a closely contested affair is on the cards, and we might need to wait until the latter stages to get a winner. However, the away side should have the quality to eke a narrow victory. The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-2 win for Unai Emery and his charges.