Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Champions League match.
AS Monaco and Manchester City last met in the first knockout round of the Champions League in 2017 — AS Monaco, with Kylian Mbappé and Radamel Falcao in the line-up, went as far as the semi-finals of the competition after eliminating Manchester City (3:5 and 3:1). Now at Stade Louis-II, the visitors’ advantage looks unshakeable — the hosts are badly short of personnel, and that is reflected in the results.
AS Monaco
After seven competitive fixtures this season, AS Monaco have four wins. In the second half of September, the squad defended very inconsistently, conceding nine goals across three Ligue 1 and Champions League matches. Club Brugge caused the biggest problems (1:4), posting 3.15 xG with 10 shots on target. In addition to the first-choice goalkeeper, the team are without Aleksandr Golovin and Paul Pogba — the French has still not made his debut for the club.
Manchester City
After the September international break, Manchester City found their rhythm and put together a solid run. In five matches, the team conceded only two goals, beating Manchester United (3:0) in the English Premier League and Napoli (2:0) in the UEFA Champions League. Against Burnley (5:1) at the weekend, Manchester City produced 3.22 xG — Erling Haaland and the entire attacking line are operating with confidence in possession.
AS Monaco vs Manchester City Prediction
On current form, Manchester City are widely expected to win away to AS Monaco. The hosts are likely to make errors, as they have in recent games, and the visitors should exploit them.
