Monaco carry a 3-2 advantage into the second leg of their UEFA Europa League showdown with Bayer Leverkusen, which takes place at the Stade Louis-II on Thursday.
The Ligue 1 side came from 2-1 down to win the first leg, with Axel Disasi scoring the winning goal in second-half stoppage time.
📊 The stats for the game against Mainz.🔙 #B04M05 2:3 | #Werkself | #Bayer04 pic.twitter.com/1rGPHiSGhQ— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) February 20, 2023
📊 The stats for the game against Mainz.🔙 #B04M05 2:3 | #Werkself | #Bayer04 pic.twitter.com/1rGPHiSGhQ
That said, Bayer Leverkusen dominated proceedings on home soil – racking up 17 shots and eight attempts on target. Can the Bundesliga club turn the tie around?
Monaco head into the second leg on the back of a 2-1 victory over Brest, with Aleksandr Golovin and Myron Boadu grabbing the goals for the visitors.
The Monegasques have now won each of their last five games in all competitions, scoring over 2.5 goals on three occasions in that time.
When you look at the bigger picture, Monaco are unbeaten in their previous eight outings, with only two defeats coming in their last 16.
Sitting third in the Ligue 1 table – seven points behind first-placed Paris Saint-Germain – Monaco could achieve something special this season.
On the flip side, Bayer Leverkusen suffered a 3-2 defeat to Mainz 05 last time out – despite coming from behind on two occasions on home soil.
That means Leverkusen have now lost four of their previous five matches across all competitions, conceding three goals in each of their last two outings.
Leverkusen chalked up an impressive five-game winning streak between November and January, but they have taken a turn of the worse since then.
Following last weekend’s loss to Mainz, Xabi Alonso’s side find themselves tenth in the Bundesliga standings – 16 points shy of table-topping Bayern Munich.
Head-to-head: Monaco have only lost one of their last five meetings with Bayer Leverkusen, picking up three wins along the way.
Given that the past three meetings between Monaco and Leverkusen have dished up 10 goals, we should see another high-scoring encounter on Thursday.
Team news: Monaco’s lengthy injury list features Ruben Aguilar, Guillermo Maripan, Gelson Martins, Kevin Volland and Vanderson.
As for Bayer Leverkusen, they will be without the injured trio of Moussa Diaby, Andrey Diaby and Charles Aranguiz for the second leg.
With the home advantage on their side, Monaco are expected to advance to the next round with a comfortable win.
Forebet predicts that Monaco will score over 2.5 goals on their way to dispatching Bayer Leverkusen.