Dortmund travels to play Monaco on Wednesday for their 2nd leg Champions League fixture. Monaco won the 1st leg 3-2 in Germany but the match was postponed due to an attack on Dortmund team bus that left defender Marc Batra in the hospital. This problem affected the team’s morale and the performance of the players. The tie is far from being over as Monaco are leading by just 1 goal. Both teams have great attacking firepower but the lack of consistency from their defense makes them concede a lot.
After six weeks of absence due to a hamstring injury, Marco Reus is back for Dortmund and he scored his 3rd goal of the season just three minutes into the game in the last round of the German Bundesliga (3-1 vs. Eintracht Frankfurt). They currently sit in 4th place trailing 3rd place Hoffenheim by 1 point. Dortmund have a great bench at their disposal with huge attacking potential and they hope to bounce back and overcome the 1st leg result. They are in desperate need of an early goal to give them a boost of confidence and focus on the rest of the game. Dortmund have kept three clean sheets in their last eight matches in all competitions but it will be really tough for them to keep an empty net when playing away at Monaco.
Monaco are having a superb season sitting in 1st place in the French Ligue 1 with 77 points in 32 rounds, 3 points clear of PSG. Not only that but they have the best attack with 90 goals scored so far in their domestic league. Monaco enters this leg after a great late victory against Dijon (2-1) with Radamel Falcao being the MVP of the match. Bakayoko is expected to return to the pitch after his suspension but Fabinho will sit out after his 1st leg yellow card. The 18 years old Mbappe is showing exceptional skills dominating his opponents and having big potential to make a great career. He scored 2 goals vs. Manchester City and another 2 goals in the 1st leg against Dortmund. We expect him to be at his top level and make the difference once again.
This match should be another Champions League classic, a superb encounter with big potential to be a goal-thriller. We expect Dortmund to push from the start and look for an early opener. But let’s not forget how dangerous Monaco are when playing on their turf.
Best picks for the match:
Over 3.5 goals in the match at 2.05 with Bet365
Dortmund to win with DNB (Draw no bet) at 1.7 with Unibet
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