Already assured of being relegated from Ligue 1, Angers can still put a dent in the European aspirations of Monaco when the two teams clash on Sunday at Stade Raymond Kopa.
Les Scoistes remain bottom of the table with 14 points, losing 4-2 at Rennes last weekend, while Monaco are narrowly holding onto a Europa League spot after dropping a 4-0 decision at Montpellier HSC.
Match preview
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Angers have five top-flight matches remaining to try to salvage a little pride in what has been a disastrous campaign, to say the least, with this team losing 25 of their 33 league fixtures, a record at this stage of a Ligue 1 season.
They are on their third manager this season, but none of those changes have worked as Les Scoistes are in danger of setting a record for defeats in a single French top-flight campaign, currently three losses shy of the all-time mark set by Troyes Sainte-Savine in 1960-61.
Under Alexandre Dujeux, this team have at least put together some respectable showings, earning four points in his seven matches at the helm, suffering narrow defeats versus Clermont (2-1) and at home to the league-leaders Paris Saint-Germain (2-1).
If only they were better able to maintain an advantage, their hopes of remaining in Ligue 1 might still be intact, with Angers dropping 14 points this season when scoring first, losing 57% of their domestic fixtures in that scenario.
One of the few positives surrounding this group is their improved performances at home lately, claiming at least a point in two of their last three domestic fixtures played at Stade Raymond Kopa, with nine of their 14 points in 2022-23 coming on home soil.
Their 72 goals conceded in league play thus far is already the most this club have given up since returning into the top flight during the 2015-16 campaign, allowing 14 more goals this season than their previous high in 2020-21.
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It is nearing now or never time for Philippe Clement and his Monaco side, who have dug themselves a deep hole in the chase for a Champions League place, eight points back of Lens for third with just five matches remaining.
Les Monegasques have captured only one of their last four domestic affairs and have looked dismal in their previous two defeats versus Lens (3-0) and Montpellier, losing by four goals last weekend for the first time since January 2019 (5-1 versus Strasbourg) when Thierry Henry was in charge.
Last weekend marked the first time domestically since 2021 that this team had suffered consecutive defeats in the top flight, while another one on Sunday would be the first time Les Monegasques have lost three straight Ligue 1 contests since December 2020.
Their current boss is running out of time to try to earn a contract extension with this team beyond 2023, and squandering seven points from winning positions against teams currently in the relegation zone will not help his case.
His resume would take another hit should Monaco fail to claim a European spot next season, something which at the moment is very much in question as they sit just two points above Lille in the race for the Europa League and five points clear of Rennes for a place in the Europa Conference League.
Throughout the domestic campaign, Monaco have been at their best away from home, claiming at least a point in all but two road contests in 2022-23, with six of their eight clean sheets coming as the visitors.
Team News
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Dujeux does not have a healthy squad by any stretch heading into this clash on Sunday with Ulrick Eneme Ella (knee), Ali Kalla (knee), Farid El Melali (knee), Ilyes Chetti (thigh), Pierrick Capelle (thigh), Halid Sabanovic (thigh), Amine Salama (muscle) and Faouzi Ghoulam (Achilles) all at risk of missing another encounter through injury.
Nabil Bentaleb and Ibrahima Niane scored in the opening half for Angers last week, though an own-goal from Cedric Hountondji did not help their cause as they fell to Stade Rennais.
Adrien Hunou, who is tied with Bentaleb for the team lead in goals (four) has not scored in back-to-back contests, Sabanovic had the only goal in their previous home triumph over Lille last month (1-0), while Paul Bernardoni stopped five shots to collect a clean sheet on that occasion.
Malang Sarr is not expected to return for Monaco until the middle of this month as he is suffering from an abdominal strain, Breel Embolo should be back around that same time frame, having previously sustained a sprained knee, and Maghnes Akliouche will be out for a few more weeks due to an illness.
Alexander Nubel has conceded seven goals in his last two Ligue 1 outings, as many as he allowed in his previous five top-flight matches combined, while their leading scorer Wissam Ben Yedder is without a goal in five straight games in this competition, currently on 17 this season, one fewer than Folarin Balogun and Lois Openda, who are tied for fourth in Ligue 1 scoring.
Kevin Volland has been involved in seven of the last 11 Monaco goals scored against Angers in this competition, two of which came in their previous visit to Stade Raymond Kopa last season when Axel Disasi, Myron Boadu and former winger Sofiane Diop all found the back of the net in a 3-1 triumph.
Angers possible starting lineup:
Bernardoni; Bamba, Valery, Hountondji, Blazic, Doumbia; Bentaleb, Mendy, Taibi; Hunou, Niane
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Vanderson, Disasi, Maripan, Henrique; Fofana, Camara; Golovin; Ben Seghir, Volland, Ben Yedder
We say: Angers 0-2 Monaco
With their relegation fate already decided, Angers have nothing to lose, but in spite of this, Le SCO do not look likely to end their losing run versus a Monaco side that have beaten them in six successive top-flight encounters, with Les Scoistes going goalless in 10 of their previous 12 league fixtures against Les Monegasques.
Monaco are at an all-time low right now, but they are still positioned to play in Europe next season, so we expect that to provide them with enough motivation to play more determined and intelligently against the worst team in Ligue 1.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
