13.01.2024
19:00
Stade Louis II
Fontvieille, Monaco.
It's tight at the top of the league table at the middle of the season and it's a delicate time for each team as they hope to maintain the momentum in the remaining parts of the season.
AS Monaco are in 3rd place, with 2 points behind Nice in 2nd and 2 points ahead of 4th place Stade Brest. If they intend to keep their place or even get a chance to go higher, then they have to win Stade Reims. And for Reims, the dream of making it to Europe competition next season is very much alive, although they are just 1 point off the Conference League spot. They hope that they can finish above their current position and for that, they need to keep the momentum.
AS Monaco and Stade Reims now go head-to-head for all 3 points and both sides are hoping to make a statement of intent to the teams around them.
Get Your Welcome Bonus NowAS Monaco
AS Monaco remains in the top 3, but they have every reason to be feeling the pressure following their inconsistent form in their last 5 matches in the league. It would be odd to expect the team to go on without losing, but losing 5:2 against PSG and then 1:0 against Olympique Lyon, who were struggling at the bottom at the time, is just enough red flags for AS Monaco.
They went to the break with a win over Toulouse after their defeat to Lyon a week before. AS Monaco fought back to beat Toulouse after conceding the first goal just 5 minutes into the first half. Wissam Ben Yedder was the hero for Monaco after his double in the 26th and 44th minute, to complete the comeback on the stroke of halftime. The second half was tough but both teams kept it tight and no goals were scored, which meant Monaco won 2:1 at the end of 90 minutes. However, they would be without Aleksandr Golovin in this match, as he was shown a red card in the 51st minute for violent misconduct. It's now 3 wins and 2 defeats in the last 5 matches for AS Monaco.
AS Monaco can hope to build on the big win over Stade Reims in the earlier meeting at the Stade Auguste Delaune. Monaco won 3:1 on that ground and another win in front of their fans won't be such a difficult task.
Stade Reims
Stade Reims are coping just fine at this point in the season, or at least according to the league table. Although their results in recent times might pose a strong disagreement.
Stade Reims managed 2 wins in their last 5 league matches before the break. They lost 3 all 3 matches against Stade Rennes, OGC Nice, and RC Lens, and won 2 games against Strasbourg and Le Havre.
They put in a very gallant performance in their last league match, which ended in a win over Le Havre. Le Havre was reduced to 10 men after Rassoul Ndiaye was sent off in the 21st minute. It didn't take Reims long to capitalize on the advantage and they took the lead through Keito Nakamura 4 minutes later. And the remainder of the game was pretty much as expected, with Stade Reims putting the pressure on the visitors. But the game ended with just a single goal separating both sides.
Beating Le Havre by a single goal after 2 straight defeats is not by any means an indication that Reims are in fine form and there's a strong indication that they might lose against AS Monaco in this coming fixture. However, Stade Reims seems to have some lucky charm at the Stade Louis II stadium, as their last 2 visits had resulted in a win and they have not lost on that ground in their last 4 visits.
Head to Head
In 20 meetings between AS Monaco and Stade Reims, AS Monaco won 7 matches, while Reims won 5 and they drew 8 matches.
Analysis and Betting Options
There's little belief that Reims can pull off a trick in this encounter. There's just so much difference between both clubs in terms of form and quality at the moment. So we expect AS Monaco to put on their best display in this encounter.
AS Monaco have not kept a clean sheet in the last 4 matches, while Reims have seen more than 2.5 goals scored in 5/7 of their matches. And while playing against each other, there’s been less than 4.5 cards shown in 5/7 matches.
- Monaco to Play More Corners at 1.666 Odds
- Home Win at 1.74 Odds
- Correct Score 2-0 at 9 Odds