Preview: Monaco v. Paris

A LOOK AT THE TABLE

After holding onto their unbeaten streak at the death with a 1-1 draw against Stade Rennais at the Parc des Princes last time out, Paris Saint-Germain remain top of the Ligue 1 table. Going into the game at the Stade Louis II, Les Parisiens are on a run of 18 straight league matches without defeat (14 wins and four draws), which has helped them to rack up 54 points so far – 11 more than second-placed Stade Brestois 29.

As for Monaco, the principality side jumped back into the top three in style last weekend by winning 3-2 away to Lens. Having already beaten Nice by the same scoreline a little more than two weeks ago, Les Monégasques followed that result up with a 2-1 defeat at home to Toulouse, but now, as they sit third in the table with 41 points, ASM have their south-coast neighbours Nice as well as LOSC breathing down their necks and will therefore be hoping to get the better of Les Parisiens on Friday to keep themselves in the race for second place.

THE TWO TEAMS' CURRENT FORM IN NUMBERS

On Friday evening, Les Rouge et Bleu will be looking to make it 17 wins from 24 Ligue 1 games this season, having registered six draws and just one defeat otherwise. To do so, Paris will have to avoid defeat on the road for the 18th consecutive time domestically, which would be the longest run of its kind in the capital club's history, while Les Parisiens will also be able to rely on another 18-game streak – their aforementioned unbeaten run in the league – which is currently the longest such streak in the French top flight. Away from home, Paris Saint-Germain are the only team in Europe's top five leagues not to have trailed at any point during the current campaign.

On "the Rock", though, Paris have often found things difficult against Les Rouge et Blanc, who have won each of the last three encounters between the two sides in the principality, thereby proving the weight of the task that awaits Les Rouge et Bleu. Incidentally, ASM have beaten Paris in the league more often than any other team, having notched up 45 wins over the capital club in the French top flight. Against the current Ligue 1 leaders, one of Monaco's biggest assets will be Wissam Ben Yedder, with the France international having already scored nine goals against Les Parisiens since making his debut in the division back in 2010, which is the highest such tally of any individual player across that period.

THE OPPOSITION'S STRENGTHS

Adi Hütter mainly sets his team up in either a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-2 formation. In goal, Philipp Köhn and Radosław Majecki compete with each other for the number-one spot, but the latter appears to be slightly ahead of his competitor going into Friday's game. In defence, however, the hierarchy seems to be a lot more clear-cut, as Guillermo Maripán and Mohammed Salisu are likely to form Monaco's centre-back partnership, while Thilo Kehrer is due to return from suspension to stake his claim for the right-back position, which was occupied by Wilfried Singo last time out.

While Les Rouge et Blanc will still have to do without Brazil international Vanderson on the right side of defence, the opposite side isn't exactly in better shape, with fellow Seleção star Caio Henrique currently out with a long-term injury and Ismail Jakobs expected to miss the fixture with a hamstring problem, meaning that 19-year-old Kassoum Ouattara may well step in to complete the Monaco backline.

In midfield, the indispensable Youssouf Fofana is likely to start the match and will potentially be accompanied by Aleksandr Golovin, who has bagged himself six goals and four assists across all competitions so far this season and can play either centrally or out wide.

In the absence of Mohamed Camara (injury) and the ever-reliable Denis Zakaria (suspension), 19-year-olds Edan Diop and Mamadou Coulibaly may also have a role to play in midfield for ASM, particularly if Austrian boss Hutter decides to start with three in the middle rather than two. If not, we could see the promising young Maghnes Akliouche (six goals, two assists) start as a left midfielder, while on the right wing, the in-form Takumi Minamino (six goals, five assists) will undoubtedly be on the pitch at kick-off, with Senegal international Krépin Diatta still unavailable.

Up front, the aforementioned Wissam Ben Yedder will almost certainly feature, with Monaco's free-scoring captain having already notched up 15 goals and one assist in 2023–24. If Les Monégasques' coaching staff were to opt for a two-man attack, the France international would be expected to pair up with Folarin Balogun (six goals, five assists), but with Switzerland international Breel Embolo still sidelined by injury, 19-year-old Eliesse Ben Seghir could also be brought in to support his elders against Les Parisiens.

Despite their diminished squad, then, it will be an ambitious ASM that will take on Les Rouge et Bleu at the Parc des Princes on Friday.