AS Monaco will host Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, eager to return to winning ways.
The last time these two sides met, AS Monaco picked up a 3-1 win at home vs Manchester City in 2017. However, the Citizens have changed drastically since then, and they are a powerhouse in Europe now. The visitors will look to grind out a positive result here after starting their Champions League campaign positively.
Pep Guardiola’s men managed to pick up a comfortable victory over reigning Serie A champion Napoli on Matchday 1, and they will certainly be the favourites to get a good result here. On the other hand, AS Monaco have been quite inconsistent this season.
Adi Hutter’s men have three wins and three defeats from their last six matches. They will need to raise their performance levels in order to stand a chance of getting something out of this game. On paper, Manchester City had a better team, and it will be interesting to see if they manage to come out on top. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
AS Monaco
The home team will be without Denis Zakaria, Aladji Bamba, Lamine Camara, and Lukas Hradecky. AS Monaco are likely to shape up in a 3-5-2 formation vs Manchester City, with Philipp Kohn in goal.
In the back three, Thilo Kehrer will start alongside Eric Dier and Christian Mawissa. Vanderson and Caio Henrique will start as the wing-backs. The wide duo will look to contribute at both ends of the pitch.
As for the midfield unit, Takumi Minamino will add creativity to the side from the middle of the park. Jordan Teze and Mamadou Coulibaly will add defensive, cover and control alongside the Japanese international. Finally, Mika Biereth and Folarin Balogun will lead the line for the home team on Wednesday night.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Kohn; Kehrer, Dier, Mawissa; Vanderson, Minamino, Teze, Coulibaly, Henrique; Biereth, Balogun
Manchester City
Abdukodir Khusanov, Omar Marmoush, Rayan Cherki, and Rayan Ait-Nouri are ruled out for the away side. Manchester City will shape up in a 4-1-4-1 formation vs AS Monaco, with Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal.
Matheus Nunes and Nico O’Reilly will start as the full-backs. They will look to help the team going forward and protect the central defenders as well. Ruben Dias will form the central defensive partnership alongside Josko Gvardiol.
As for the midfield unit, Nico Gonzalez will look to act as the anchor in the middle of the park. The Spaniard will look to control the tempo of the game from the deep. Tijjani Reijnders and Phil Foden will act as the advanced central midfielders, and they will look to add creativity and control to the side.
Savinho and Jeremy Doku will start on the flanks. They will look to add pace, flair, and unpredictability to the Manchester City attack. Finally, Erling Haaland will lead the line for the away side against AS Monaco on Wednesday.
Probable Lineup (4-1-4-1): Donnarumma; Nunez, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gonzalez; Savinho, Reijnders, Foden, Doku; Haaland
Key Stats
- 12 goals have been scored in the last two meetings between AS Monaco and Manchester City.
- AS Monaco have lost three of the last six matches in all competitions.
- Manchester City are unbeaten in the last five matches in all competitions.
- Both teams have scored in each of the last two meetings between the two sides.
- Pep Guardiola has only lost two of his 33 matches taking place in the opening two rounds of a UEFA Champions League campaign (MD1 and MD2), winning 26 of those (D5). Those two defeats did come against French sides, however, losing against Lyon in 2018-19 and Paris SG in 2021/22.
Player to Watch
Erling Haaland
The Norwegian International striker is our key player to watch out for. Haaland has been very impressive for Manchester City this season, and he will look to find the net again as well. On Matchday 1, he became the fastest player to 50 goals in the UEFA Champions League (49 appearances).
Among the 10 players with 50 or more UEFA Champions League goals, however, only Raul (31%) has scored a lower percentage in away matches than Haaland (32% – 34 at home, 16 away). Meanwhile, AS Monaco can be quite inconsistent defensively, and Haaland has the quality to punish them in the attack.
He will look to create opportunities for his teammates and find the back of the net. The Manchester City talisman will look to continue his impressive start to the season with a goal-scoring performance here.
Prediction
AS Monaco 1-3 Manchester City
Neither side are defensive in their approach, and this is likely to be an open game with plenty of opportunities for both teams. Manchester City have more quality going forward, and they should be able to find the back of the net more than once.
AS Monaco are likely to be let down by their defensive unit. A comfortable victory for Manchester City is on the cards away from home. The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-1 victory for Pep Guardiola and his charges.