Despite losing the 1st leg (5-3) three weeks ago in England, Monaco still believes that they can qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals. Manchester City enters this match with a two-goal advantage and it’s crucial for them to maintain the attacking style. “Barcelona vs. PSG” is a lesson for all the managers in the world – the best defense is the attack, you can’t afford to sit back and protect your advantage. Let’s be honest and admit that the result from the 1st leg was possible due to the individual mistakes of Monaco’s defense.
Monaco will be without the services of their best defender Kamil Glik, who is suspended for this fixture but having players like Mbappe and Falcao on the first 11, in stunning shape, you expect another great comeback in the Champions League history. We don’t want to miss the 2nd leg as we think that it will be another goal-fest between two wonderful attacking teams. Monaco are the top goal scorers this season in the top 5 European leagues (84 goals score in 29 Ligue 1 fixtures). They have come out on top in each of their 3 Champions League knock-out ties with English squads (Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal). They are the Ligue 1 leaders and big favourites in the title race as they sit 3 points clear of PSG.
Since the current format has been in place when a team scored 3+ away goals in the 1st leg, every single time that team has progressed to the next round. The Blues have won just one of their last seven away games in Champions League, not including qualifying matches. Both teams are defensively weak, keeping just 1 clean sheet each in the Champions League this season. Beating Manchester City by a two-goal margin seems really tough but you never know what might happen if your players are showing their best skills and putting their best effort. Monaco will have to face City’s ability to score goals away from home. They have been incredible at home this season and we expect them to keep this high level also against City. The two-goal lead may prove enough for the Blues to qualify further but we are sure that we will see a thrilling encounter with both teams creating a lot of scoring opportunities.
Best picks for the match:
Monaco to score in both halves at 2.62 with William Hill
Manchester City to score over 1.5 goals at 1.8 with Bet365
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