In the first half of the Champions League group stage, AS Monaco have gone unbeaten — only Liverpool have amassed more (10 vs 12). At home against Benfica, they will not have an easy time advancing into the opposition's half, as the Lisbon side will look to capitalise on counter-attacks, especially since they have hit a rich vein of form.
Monaco’s surprising rise to the top of the European standings can be attributed, in part, to a favourable schedule. The principality club could have secured maximum points in the four rounds but dropped points in Zagreb against Dinamo (2:2). Notably, in their last 10 matches across all competitions, Monaco have seen the total over 2.5 in seven instances. On Friday against Stade Brestois (3:2), Aleksandr Golovin marked his season debut with a goal, while Monaco created 2.43 xG against another Champions League participant.
Despite defeats to Feyenoord (1:3) and Bayern Munich (0:1), Bruno Lage’s return to Benfica has been nearly phenomenal: 10 wins in 12 matches. Post-international break, the Lisbon side hammered Estrela Amadora in the Portuguese Cup (7:0), with Ángel Di Maria netting a hat-trick within 18 minutes. It is likely that Benfica will revert from the 5-3-2 formation used in Munich to their familiar 4-3-3, which will positively impact their attacking play.
The encounter between AS Monaco and Benfica promises plenty of scoring opportunities. Both sides possess potent attacks, yet each is prone to defensive lapses.
|
A. Hütter
|
coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
Line-up
|
|||
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Radosław Majecki
|
gk. | 2 | -1 |
|
Caio Henrique Oliveira Silva
|
df. | 4 | 0 |
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Thilo Kehrer
|
df. | 4 | 1 |
|
Vanderson de Oliveira Campos
|
df. | 4 | 0 |
|
Wilfried Stephane Singo
|
df. | 3 | 1 |
|
Alexandr Golovin
|
mf. | 4 | 0 |
|
Eliesse Ben Seghir
|
mf. | 4 | 0 |
|
Maghnes Akliouche
|
mf. | 4 | 2 |
|
Denis Zakaria
|
mf. | 3 | 1 |
|
Mamadou Lamine Camara
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Breel Embolo
|
fw. | 4 | 1 |
|
Substitutes
|
|||
|
Philipp Köhn
|
gk. | 2 | -3 |
|
Yann François Lienard
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Christian Mawissa Elebi
|
df. | 2 | 0 |
|
Mohammed Salisu
|
df. | 2 | 1 |
|
Jordan Teze
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
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Kassoum Ouattara
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Takumi Minamino
|
mf. | 4 | 2 |
|
Eliot Matazo
|
mf. | 2 | 0 |
|
Soungoutou Magassa
|
mf. | 2 | 0 |
|
George Osrzehmen Ilenikhena
|
fw. | 3 | 1 |
|
Folarin Jolaoluwa Jerry Balogun
|
fw. | 2 | 0 |
|
Bruno Lage
|
coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
Line-up
|
|||
|
Anatoliy Trubin
|
gk. | 4 | -5 |
|
Nicolás Otamendi
|
df. | 4 | 0 |
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Álvaro Fernández Carreras
|
df. | 4 | 0 |
|
Alexander Hartmann Bah
|
df. | 3 | 1 |
|
Tomás Lemos Araújo
|
df. | 3 | 0 |
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Fredrik Aursnes
|
mf. | 4 | 0 |
|
Orkun Kökçü
|
mf. | 4 | 2 |
|
Ángel Di María
|
mf. | 4 | 1 |
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Florentino
|
mf. | 3 | 0 |
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Muhammed Kerem Aktürkoğlu
|
fw. | 4 | 3 |
|
Vangelis Pavlidis
|
fw. | 4 | 0 |
|
Substitutes
|
|||
|
André Gomes
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
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Samuel Jumpe Soares
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
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António João Pereira de Albuquerque Tavares da Silva
|
df. | 3 | 0 |
|
Issa Kaboré
|
df. | 2 | 0 |
|
Adrian Bajrami
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
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Tiago Miguel Geraldes Parente
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Leandro Barreiro
|
mf. | 2 | 0 |
|
Mohamed Zeki Amdouni
|
fw. | 4 | 0 |
|
Benjamín Rollheiser
|
fw. | 3 | 0 |
|
Arthur Cabral
|
fw. | 2 | 0 |
|
Andreas Rædergård Schjelderup
|
fw. | 1 | 0 |
Post by:
Champions League
