Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Ligue 1 match.
Two Ligue 1 representatives in Europe meet at Stade Louis-II in this third-round fixture: AS Monaco are bound for the Champions League, while Strasbourg Alsace are in the UEFA Europa Conference League. The visitors came through qualifying, so the squad is travelling to the Principality without a full recovery period.
AS Monaco
Whether that affects performance remains to be seen, but on Thursday evening Strasbourg Alsace had to work hard to reach the main phase of the Europa Conference League. Brøndby stayed competitive, yet the hosts could not find a third goal (3:2). There were wholesale changes compared with the last Ligue 1 meeting with Nantes (1:0), and there were scarcely any repeat starters.
Strasbourg Alsace
Strasbourg Alsace have started the season well with three wins and a draw, although they have not yet faced opponents of AS Monaco’s calibre. They also have not been cast as such clear underdogs to this point. AS Monaco sit eighth after a 0:1 defeat to LOSC Lille settled in the final 10 minutes. Lille benefited from FIFA World Cup winner Olivier Giroud; do Strasbourg Alsace possess anything comparable? AS Monaco do have Maghnes Akliouche. The 23-year-old winger scored against Le Havre AC (3:1) and was the team’s standout performer against Lille.
AS Monaco vs Strasbourg Alsace Prediction
Last season AS Monaco failed to win only five times at Stade Louis-II, one of those against Strasbourg Alsace (0:0). Even if most of the visitors’ regulars were spared heavy minutes on Thursday, the trip to Denmark is unlikely to have been without consequence, so this time AS Monaco should prevail.
