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Monaco
Ligue 1 | Gameweek 27
Mar 12, 2023 at 4.05pm UK
Stade Louis II
Reims

Monaco
0 - 1
Reims


Sarr (65')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Balogun (51')
Ito (62'), Cajuste (84')

Preview: Monaco vs. Reims - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Ligue 1 clash between Monaco and Reims, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

One of the hottest teams in Ligue 1, Reims have a chance to win three consecutive matches domestically for the first time all season when they visit Stade Louis II for a date with Monaco on Sunday.

Since being eliminated from the Europa League, Monaco have fallen four points behind Marseille for second in the table, drawing 2-2 with Troyes last weekend, while Reims are six points back of a European place next season following a last-gasp 1-0 triumph over Ajaccio.


Match preview

Wissam Ben Yedder in action for Monaco on September 11, 2022© Reuters

Over the past two campaigns, Les Monegasques have narrowly missed an automatic place in the Champions League group stage, and if they continue down their current path, it could be too late for them to finish in the top two this season.

It was another missed opportunity for Philippe Clement's side to keep pace with OM last Sunday, as they had the lead going into injury time but failed to hang on.

Not only have those two points dropped put more distance between themselves and Marseille, but it opened the door for Lens to overtake them for third and a place in the Champions League qualifiers, with Monaco and Les Sang et Or now tied at 51 points, though the Principality team are ahead thanks to having scored more goals.

Their poor form has been somewhat unexpected as they had won five consecutive matches in all competitions last month before being knocked out of the Europa League by Bayer Leverkusen on penalties.

Monaco have not won a domestic fixture all year when giving up the opening goal but are also unbeaten in 2023 when drawing first blood in a Ligue 1 encounter.

Reims have been a thorn in their side domestically at home, as Les Monegasques are winless in six successive matches against them at Stade Louis II.

Reims players clap the fans following defeat to Marseille in October 2022© Reuters

They left it late but in the end, Reims came away with three points to kick off the month of March as they continue to inch closer towards a spot in Europe next season.

It has been an extraordinary turnaround for Les Rouges et Blancs, who have not lost any of their last 18 matches in Ligue 1, the best current run in the top five European leagues.

Since the 2011-12 campaign and excluding Paris Saint-Germain, only their weekend opponents have ever had a longer unbeaten run in this competition (24 matches for Monaco between December 2016 and August 2017).

Will Still took charge of Reims in the middle of October, and since then, his team have piled up the points, claiming 32 in this competition under the Belgian, with only PSG accumulating more over that span (37).

While they have looked shaper in the attacking third under Still, this remains a team built to defend, and they have done that exceptionally well, conceding just seven goals in their previous 16 domestic encounters.

Reims have not conceded a goal in five straight matches in this competition, equalling their best run in the top flight since September-October 1946.

Monaco Ligue 1 form:


Monaco form (all competitions):


Reims Ligue 1 form:


Reims form (all competitions):



Team News

Monaco's Breel Embolo celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on December 21, 2022© Reuters

Vanderson and Guillermo Maripan remain sidelined for Monaco with knee injuries, Mohamed Camara is out until the end of the month due to an ankle sprain and Eliesse Ben Seghir could miss the next few weeks because of an illness.

Wissam Ben Yedder notched a brace in three minutes last weekend, moving him into a tie for second in Ligue 1 scoring with Jonathan David (16) and two behind ex-Monaco striker Kylian Mbappe.

In their previous meeting versus Reims, this season, goals from Ben Yedder, Takumi Minamino and Aleksandr Golovin gave Les Monegasques a 3-0 win, with Alexander Nubel stopping six shots for the clean sheet.

Emmanuel Agbadou will miss the next few weeks for Reims because of muscle injury, while Still went with the same starting 11 versus Ajaccio as he had in their 3-0 victory over Toulouse.

A 95th-minute strike from Jens Cajuste enabled Reims to win last weekend, as Yehvann Diouf picked up his fifth successive clean sheet, putting him in a tie with PSG's Gianluigi Donnarumma for the most in Ligue 1 this season (11).

Folarin Balogun has 15 goals in this competition but has not scored in his last three league games, an own goal from Kevin Volland helped Reims draw level with Monaco in this exact fixture last season, while Arber Zeneli set up the winner in that encounter which came courtesy of former Rouge et Blanc winger Nathanael Mbuku.

Monaco possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Aguilar, Disasi, Sarr, Henrique; Minamino, Fofana, Matazo; Golovin; Ben Yedder, Embolo

Reims possible starting lineup:
Diouf; Foket, Keita, Abdelhamid, De Smet; Lopy, Matusiwa; Flips, Munetsi, Ito; Balogun


SM words green background

We say: Monaco 1-1 Reims

Eight of the 15 meetings between these teams this century have ended in a draw, and although momentum is on the side of Reims, Will Still's men are not creating as much on the counter, while Balogun is in a slump, so we project another stalemate in the Principality this weekend.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:curl


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Game History

How you voted: Monaco vs Reims

Monaco
64.9%
Draw
18.9%
Reims
16.2%
37
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Paris Saint-GermainPSG1192033102329
2MonacoMonaco117221881023
3Marseille116232415920
4Lille115421811719
5Lyon115331815318
6Nice1145221111017
7Reims115241915417
8Lens11452129317
9Auxerre115152019116
10Toulouse114341311215
11StrasbourgStrasbourg113442022-213
12Brest114161419-513
13Rennes113261318-511
14NantesNantes112451417-310
15Angers112451320-710
16Saint-EtienneSt Etienne113171025-1510
17Le HavreLe Havre11308823-159
18Montpellier HSCMontpellier112181131-207


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