Monaco will aim to make it four consecutive Ligue 1 wins when they host Nantes at the Stade Louis II on Sunday.
Nantes are winless in their last four league games, tasked with turning their poor form around in a tricky away fixture.
Match preview
© Reuters
In their last outing, Philippe Clement's men were comfortable winners, slotting in two goals in the last five minutes to secure a 3-0 victory away at Reims, a third league win in a row.
The game was rounded off with a goal by Wissam Ben Yedder, the prolific striker now off the mark in the league after racking up a remarkable 25 Ligue 1 goals last season, the second highest behind Kylian Mbappe.
Not only is their star striker now firing, summer addition Takumi Minamino has hit the ground running for his new club with a goal and two assists in four appearances so far.
Away form has been key for Monaco's current position of fifth in the table, winning three and drawing one on the road so far, whereas at home they have been inconsistent, losing in disappointing fashion to Troyes and Lens in the league and recently Ferencvaros in the Europa League.
However, despite only winning once at home so far this season, Sunday's game offers the perfect opportunity to improve this record given the slow start their opponents have made.
© Reuters
Indeed, French Cup holders Nantes have so far failed to follow up their impressive 2021-22 season and have only won one of their eight league games, with that coming against newly-promoted Toulouse.
In their last match, Les Canaris struggled to a 0-0 draw at home to Lens in a game that summed up their poor start to the season and saw them fall to 15th, one point above the relegation zone.
Prior to that, manager Antoine Kombouare will have been disappointed with a trip to Qarabag in the Europa League that resulted in a 3-0 defeat, and a 3-2 defeat at Ligue 1 surprise package Lorient.
In fairness, the fixture list has not been kind to Nantes so far, having already faced Ligue 1's top four teams in their opening eight games.
It does not get any easier for them however, and with tough trips to Rennes and Freiburg coming up, Les Canaris will be eager to get their season truly up and running with a win on Sunday.
Team News
© Reuters
Monaco's Kevin Volland should not have too much longer on the sidelines after suffering an ankle injury in a clash with Paris Saint-Germain in August, but Sunday's game might be too soon for the German forward.
With the 4-4-2 formation that has been adopted by Philippe Clement of late working so well for his side, it is likely the manager sticks with this new system and starts both Wissam Ben Yedder and Breel Embolo in attack.
Defender Guillermo Maripan is likely to be out for a few more weeks with an abdominal injury, while Willem Geubbels has made some significant strides towards recovery from a muscle injury, and could get some minutes in Sunday's game.
For Nantes, Samuel Moutoussamy is serving a suspension having received three yellow cards inside a 10-game period and will be unavailable for selection, with Moussa Sissoko being the obvious replacement in central midfield.
New signing Fabien Centonze will not be in contention to make his first start for the club, being ruled out with a hamstring problem, so Dennis Appiah is expected to keep his place at right-back.
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Vanderson, Disasi, Badiashile, Henrique; Diatta, Fofana, Camara, Golovin; Embolo, Ben Yedder
Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lafont; Castelletto, Girotto, Pallois; Appiah, Chirivella, Blas, Sissoko, Merlin; Simon, Mohamed
We say: Monaco 3-1 Nantes
Monaco are on a good run of form in the league, and we do not see them slipping up here given the strength of their side and Nantes' poor start to the season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
