Monaco vs Montpellier

Stade Louis II is the venue as Monaco and Montpellier go head-to-head in a handsomely-looking Ligue 1 showdown.

A woeful 3-0 defeat at Lens last weekend knocked Monaco down from a four-match unbeaten Ligue 1 run (W3, D1), significantly derailing their chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League. With five points separating them from a coveted third spot, ‘Les Monégasques’ must quickly regroup as they meet a Montpellier side they’ve lost to only twice in their 28 top-flight encounters on home turf (W17, D9), most recently going down in 2018. Philippe Clement’s men have at least turned their home fortunes around in the build-up to this clash, going from three straight competitive losses to back-to-back victories by an aggregate score of 7-4. Those scoring exploits highlight the potential for a goal-glutted affair, with a 3-1 win in this corresponding fixture last season backing such claims.

In the meantime, visiting Montpellier eked out a 1-0 home win over Rennes last time out to halt a three-match winless Ligue 1 run (D1, L2) and move eight points clear of the relegation territory. Despite taking the field as betting outsiders, the visitors can draw confidence from suffering just one defeat on their last four league travels (W2, D1). Since both their victories in that span yielded an identical 1-0 scoreline, drawing first blood could prove crucial to their hopes of defying a three-match winless streak in the French principality (D1, L2). Worryingly, though, Michel Der Zakarian’s men have lost seven of their nine games against teams currently in the top five in Ligue 1 this season, drawing the other two.