Paris Saint-Germain vs Monaco

Parc des Princes forms the backdrop for a mouth-watering Ligue 1 showdown between Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco.

Fresh off a routine 2-0 win against lower-league Le Mans in the Coupe de France, PSG return to Ligue 1 action, where they’ve yet to lose this season (W15, D5). Last weekend’s 5-2 demolition of Brest preserved their unassailable ten-point lead at the table’s summit, bringing them closer to a record-extending 13th league title. Facing Monaco amidst a 15-game unbeaten run in all competitions (W12, D3) inspires further confidence, especially knowing they defeated this opposition in January’s Trophée des Champions final (1-0) to extend their unbeaten H2H streak to four games (W3, D1). Luis Enrique’s charges will look to make it five in a row, buoyed by their stellar nine-game H2H form on home turf (W5, D3, L1). On the downside, they’ve only kept one clean sheet across their last 13 top-flight meetings with Monaco on this ground.

That’s comforting for the visitors, who had to fight back from a halftime deficit to beat newcomers Auxerre 4-2 at home last weekend. Defensive frailties have seen Adi Hutter’s side concede 2+ goals in five consecutive league matches since their most recent Ligue 1 clean sheet at Reims in mid-December. While that hardly bodes well, ‘Les Monégasques’ can take heart from netting at least two goals in four of those five matches. However, after winning four of their first five away league outings this season (L1), the visitors have gone winless in their last four (D2, L2), conceding precisely twice on three occasions. Therefore, they head into proceedings amid their worst away patch since October 2019!