Although AS Monaco are participants in the UEFA Champions League and Lorient are newly promoted to Ligue 1, in reality the gap between them is not that big: they are in ninth place and their opponents are 12th.
AS Monaco
For this match, Sébastien Pocognoli may be without between nine and twelve players. The participation of Paul Labile Pogba, Anssumane Fati Vieira and Folarin Jerry Balogun is in doubt, while key player Takumi Minamino suffered a knee ligament rupture before the New Year and is definitely out for the rest of the season. In the previous round against Olympique Lyonnais, AS Monaco already had to cope without him, and in the 70th minute, when there was still a chance to equalise at 1:2, the team were reduced to ten men after Mamadou Coulibaly was sent off for excessive use of force. They are seven points behind fifth place, which gives a European spot and is currently occupied by Olympique Lyonnais.
Lorient
For Lorient it is too early to think about Europe; first they need to secure their place in the top division. Only at the end of 2025 did the team finally breathe a little easier: a six-match unbeaten run moved them away from the relegation zone. This included away draws with Nantes (1:1) and Strasbourg Alsace (0:0). The side have only four injured players, and two of them could potentially be available to play.
AS Monaco vs Lorient Prediction
AS Monaco are clearly weakened by enforced absences, so they may still manage to win, but we would not be surprised by a different outcome either. Therefore our prediction is in favour of Lorient.
