Monaco welcome Lyon to the Stade Louis-II for a French Ligue 1 clash on Saturday. With the race for Europe heating up, a keenly contested affair is expected and this clash is set to produce goals.
Monaco claimed a 3-1 league win at Saint-Étienne in their previous Ligue 1 fixture. That result extended their unbeaten run to four matches in the league and kept them in the automatic UEFA Champions League spot.
Adi Hutter’s men have consistently maintained their attacking threat, with 17 goals scored over the last 10 fixtures. However, they have shown some defensive weakness lately and are without a clean sheet in four of their last six matches in the league.
Lyon's hopes of securing Champions League football took a major blow with the 2-1 home defeat to Lens last time out. They are now outside the European places and will be keen to make a swift return to winning ways.
While Lyon have had a few erratic moments lately, they have claimed six wins in their last nine Ligue 1 matches. Paulo Fonseca's men have scored in their last seven league matches but defensive frailties mean they have also failed to keep a single clean sheet in that run.
How the bookies view it: Bookies backing Monaco
Monaco have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 7/10 by BoyleSports to claim the win. A victory for Lyon is valued at 12/5 with BoyleSports, who are also offering odds of 3/1 for a draw.
Head to head: Lyon on top
Lyon have a 29-21 advantage with 13 draws from 63 previous matches against Monaco. However, the hosts earned a 2-0 away victory in the reverse fixture.
Players to watch: Lethal Lacazette
Alexandre Lacazette is Lyon’s leading scorer with 13 Ligue 1 goals this season and could be the one to watch. The striker has also scored in three of the last four matches and is priced at 15/8 by BoyleSports to score anytime on Saturday.
Eliesse Ben Seghir has netted nine goals for Monaco and could be worth keeping an eye on. The forward was on target in the reverse fixture and is priced at 13/8 by BoyleSports to get on the score sheet once again.
Probable line-ups
Monaco will be without Mika Biereth, Thilo Kehrer and Aleksandr Golovin due to injury. However, Folarin Balogun, Denis Zakaria and Ben Seghir are all expected to start.
Errnest Naumah and Enzo Molebe are still unavailable for Lyon through injuries. However, Rayan Cherki, Georges Mikautadze and Lacazette are expected to start.
Monaco: Kohn, Teze, Singo, Elebi, Henrique, Magassa, Zakaria, Akliouche, Minamino, Balogun, Embolo
Lyon: Perri, Tagliafico, Niakhate, Mata, Maitland-Niles, Tolisso, Matic, Fofana, Almada, Mikautadze, Lacazette
Anything else catch the eye?
Seven of Lyon’s last 10 matches in all competitions have produced over 3.5 goals, which is priced at evens with BoyleSports. Monaco have scored in both halves of five of the last seven home fixtures in the league and a repeat could be considered at 6/5 with BoyleSports.
Seven of Monaco's last 10 home matches have offered up more goals after the break and a similar outcome is valued at 20/23 with BoyleSports.
This French Ligue 1 match between Monaco and Lyon will be played on and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Monaco vs Lyon prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
GambleAware