Monaco welcome Saint-Etienne to the Stade Louis-II for their opening fixture of the 2024-24 Ligue 1 season. The hosts have been impressive in recent meetings and should begin their campaign with a comfortable win in front of their fans.
Monaco attempted to push champions PSG all the way last season but eventually fell off. They finished nine points off the pace and will be keen to close that gap significantly this term.
Manager Adi Hutter will be heading into the campaign without prolific striker Wissam Ben Yedder, who has left the club after five years. His departure was not felt as Monaco lost once in preseason and claimed a 3-0 victory over Barcelona in their final warm-up fixture.
Saint-Etienne are returning to the French topflight after spending the last two seasons in League Two. While they will be looking to cause as many upsets as possible, their primary target this season will be to remain in Ligue 1.
Preseason was a bit erratic for Saint-Etienne, who picked up three wins from five friendly games. Olivier Dall’Oglio’s men head into Saturday’s Ligue 1 opener off the back of a 3-2 victory over German lower league sides Holstein-Kiel.
How the bookies view it: Monaco highly fancied
Monaco have been installed as overwhelming favourites among the bookies, with a home win priced at 4/9 with Betfred. An unlikely victory for Saint-Etienne is valued at 9/2 while Betfred is also offering odds of 100/30 for a draw.
Recent head to head: Monaco too good
Monaco have come out on top in recent matches against Saint-Etienne, winning the last three meetings. They ran out 4-1 winners in the most recent clash back in 2022.
Players to watch: Balogun to step up
Following Wissam Ben Yedder’s departure, Folarin Balogun will be the man tasked with stepping up to the mantle this season. The forward had seven Ligue 1 goals last term and is priced at 5/4 by Betfred to find the net on Saturday.
Ibrahima Wadji was not at his best for Saint-Etienne last season and will be keen to get things right this term. The forward could be worth keeping an eye on to score anytime at 3/1 by Betfred.
Probably line-ups
In the absence of Ben Yedder, Monaco are likely to proceed with the attacking partnership of Breel Embolo and Folarin Balogun. Denis Zakaria and Takumi Minamino should feature in midfield while Thilo Kehrer is set to start in defence.
Zuriko Davitashvili could be set for his Saint-Etienne debut and is likely to feature in attack alongside Ibrahim Sissoko and Ibrahima Wadji. Yunis Abdelhamid is also expected to start in the heart of the defence.
Monaco: Kohn, Vanderson, Kehrer, Salisu, Jakobs, Minamino, Camara, Zakaria, Ben Seghir, Embolo, Balogun
Saint-Etienne: Larssoneur, Batubinsika, Abdelhamid, Macon, Appiah, Tardieu, Cafaro, Fomba, Old, Sissoko, Davitashvili
Anything else catch the eye?
Monaco have plenty of attacking options and could be backed to score in both halves at 11/10 with Betfred. The hosts are also expected to be dominant on Saturday and could be set to win both halves at 5/2 with Betfred.
Saturday’s clash is likely to happen a high-scoring encounter, so over 3.5 goals could be considered at 6/4 with Betfred.
This French Ligue 1 match between Monaco and Saint-Etienne will be played on Aug 17, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Monaco vs Saint-Etienne prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
