Two teams who kicked off their 2023-24 Ligue 1 campaigns on the right foot butt heads at the Stade Louis II on Sunday, as Monaco welcome Strasbourg to the Principality.
Les Monegasques came up trumps in a six-goal thriller with Clermont on the opening day - posting a 4-2 success - while Patrick Vieira's side edged past Lyon 2-1.
Match preview
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It took just seven minutes for the first goalkeeping howler of Monaco's season last weekend, as the newly-signed Philipp Kohn allowed Mateusz Wieteska's header to slip through his grasp, but Vanderson and Wissam Ben Yedder turned the tie on its head before the half-time whistle blew.
The glut of goals did not stop there, as Muhammed Cham drew Clermont level at 2-2, but Ben Yedder's second of the afternoon - a Vanderson cross that deflected into the back of the net off the striker - propelled Adi Hutter's men back into the lead before Maghnes Akliouche completed the job in injury time.
Monaco's opening triumph was the perfect tonic to a three-game losing run to end their period of summer friendlies, and only Rennes - who brushed aside newly-promoted Metz 5-1 - are above Les Monegasques in the table with one game played.
The podium places have been unfamiliar territory for Monaco over the past couple of years, and it remains to be seen if Hutter's men can maintain a charge for the Champions League spots as the season drags on, but there will be no continental commitments for the hosts to take into account in 2023-24.
Victory over Clermont snapped a four-game winless streak in the top flight for Monaco, who also won just two of their final seven home contests in 2022-23 - failing to score in four of them - and if the early indications ring true, Vieira's Strasbourg will be no pushovers this term.
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Entering an exciting new era as the sister club of cash-splashing Chelsea, Strasbourg welcomed Lyon to the Stade de la Meinau last weekend in a dugout battle between two legends of the French game, as Vieira reunited with fellow 1998 World Cup winner Laurent Blanc.
After a goalless 63 minutes, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde's free kick evaded everyone before nestling into the back of the net, while Lebo Mothiba - whose Strasbourg career has been hampered by injuries - tapped home to double his side's lead with 15 minutes remaining.
Left-back Nicolas Tagliafico bundled home to reduce the arrears for Lyon in the 88th minute, but it was too little too late for Les Gones to salvage anything from the game, as Strasbourg picked up where they left off following a largely positive pre-season period.
Replacing the formidable strike partnership of Ludovic Ajorque and Habib Diallo will no doubt be a tall order for Strasbourg bosses, but Les Coureurs have already taken Angelo Gabriel on loan from sister club Chelsea and can potentially look forward to some more Stamford Bridge arrivals in the coming weeks and months.
Vieira can only concern himself with matters on the field, though, and Strasbourg fell to a pair of defeats against Monaco in the 2022-23 campaign, going down 2-1 at home before losing a seven-goal spectacular 4-3 at the Stade Louis II four months ago.
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Team News
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Monaco's Brazilian left-back Caio Henrique reportedly came off with an injury in the dying embers of their win over Clermont, but he is not believed to be nursing anything severe and will expect to keep Ismail Jakobs at bay once more.
Hutter could certainly do without any fresh fitness woes, as new signing Mohammed Salisu is dealing with a groin issue, while Breel Embolo will spend months out with an ACL injury - a common occurrence in the big five European leagues over the past couple of weeks. Edan Diop, Eliesse Ben Seghir and Yllan Okou are absent too.
Captain Ben Yedder was recently charged with rape, attempted rape, and sexual assault by French prosecutors, but the 33-year-old controversially continues to lead the line for Monaco and will do so again here barring any significant developments.
Midfielder Youssouf Fofana has apparently been the subject of a verbal €35m (£29.9m) bid from Nottingham Forest, but as things stand, the France international is set to feature from the first whistle this weekend.
Meanwhile, Strasbourg came out of their meeting with Lyon unscathed, but all of Eduard Sobol, Maxime Bastian, Moise Sahi Dion are on the injured list, while Mehdi Chahiri is ill.
Either way, Vieira ought to see no reason to disrupt the harmony following last weekend's success, as Chelsea loanee Angelo and veteran attacker Kevin Gameiro try to provide impetus from the bench once more.
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Kohn; Magassa, Maripan, Matsima; Vanderson, Matazo, Fofana, Henrique; Golovin, Minamino; Ben Yedder
Strasbourg possible starting lineup:
Sels; Sylla, Doukoure, Nyamsi; Guilbert, Bellegarde, Deminguet, Prcic, Delaine; Emegha, Mothiba
We say: Monaco 3-1 Strasbourg
Overcoming Lyon is no mean feat, but a Strasbourg side who are yet to significantly upgrade their squad during the summer window are destined to fall short in the Principality.
Monaco's new-look backline could still offer their visitors a few opportunities to make the net bulge, but Hutter's attacking firepower will surely be too hot for Strasbourg to handle.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
