- Juventus have won three of their last five competitive games, including a 3-0 win over Napoli and a 2-0 UCL win against Benfica.
- Monaco have only won one of their last five games, with a 6-1 defeat to Real Madrid, a 1-3 defeat to Lyon and a 1-3 loss to Lorient all coming within that run.
- Juventus have a perfect record against Monaco in UEFA competition (W4, D1) and knocked Les Monegasques out of the Champions League in 2016-17.
Juventus have the form and the firepower to win
Juventus travel to Stade Louis II to face Monaco in a crucial UEFA Champions League fixture on Wednesday. Juve are the favourites at around the 2.0 mark, while Monaco are priced as big underdogs at 3.6 with the draw sitting at 3.4.
Spalletti’s side will need to stay focussed
Luciano Spalletti’s arrival at Juventus has turned the club into a well-oiled possession football machine and a ruthless counter-attacking force. While their system is flexible enough to suit any game state, Juventus have shown their tactical discipline in recent wins over Benfica (2-0) and Napoli (3-0) as they kept the ball, controlled the tempo and pressed with intelligence.
The visitors have the personnel to do it, too. Khéphren Thuram and Weston McKennie are a dynamic box-to-box pairing who have contributed goals this season, while Kenan Yıldız has been in a rich vein of form. He’s been in a rich vein of form, delivering goals and assists, giving Spalletti’s forward line an extra creative spark.
With Dusan Vlahović out with an adductor injury, the onus will be on Jonathan David and Loïs Openda to lead the line and they have both shown they can play Spalletti’s system with David’s goal against Napoli the perfect example.
David has been in form and is pressing the play up top, something that Monaco will need to be wary of as they try to nullify Juventus’ threat. The Old Lady have a strong record against Monaco and they are expected to win this game, but it may not be as easy as the odds suggest with Sébastien Pocognoli’s team in the mix.
Monaco’s form has dipped
While Juventus have 42 points and sit near the top of the table in Serie A, Monaco are languishing in mid-table in Ligue 1 and have just one win in their last five matches.
Sébastien Pocognoli has done well to keep his team in the playoff mix with 9 points, but a win is needed against Juve to make sure they stay there.
Folarin Balogun has been their most reliable outlet in front of goal, having scored in the league and cup during this bad run, but Pocognoli’s side have conceded multiple goals in January, so Philipp Köhn hasn’t recorded many clean sheets in the Monaco goal.
Golovin and Akliouche offer Monaco’s best hope
Aleksandr Golovin and Maghnes Akliouche are Monaco’s most creative players and usually play advanced roles in a compact and organised Monaco structure, but the defence has been getting caught out of position this month.
Monaco don’t have the physical dominance of Juventus and are likely to sit in and wait for transition opportunities and set-piece chances. It is a decent plan, but Juventus will suffocate them.
Juventus’ defensive solidity under Spalletti
Juve have managed two clean sheets in their last three competitive games, holding Napoli and Benfica scoreless, and have all the squad depth to keep their structure intact for the entire 90 minutes.
Monaco have enough quality to nick a goal, but the Over 2.5 goals market is still my pick at 1.7 as Juve can make the game open, and the Old Lady are tipped to secure a vital win in this crucial contest, but with a goal for Monaco keeping it interesting.
