Monaco (Home)
- Monaco have lost three of their last five, being beaten 6-1 by Real Madrid, 3-1 by Lyon and 3-1 by Lorient.
- The problem for Pocognoli and Monaco is that they want to play a compact, disciplined style themselves, relying on quick counter-attacks and set-piece opportunities to hurt their opponents.
- Monaco’s big creative stars, Aleksandr Golovin and Maghnes Akliouche, are good players in advanced positions, but they have not been given much of a chance to create because their defence has conceded multiple goals in January.
- Folarin Balogun is the best forward they have, having scored in both league and cup competitions, but his finishing has been sporadic while the team has struggled to keep clean sheets.
Juventus (Away)
- Juventus have won three of their last five competitive matches, beating Benfica 2-0 in the UCL and Napoli 3-0 at home.
- Luciano Spalletti’s side have clearly found their rhythm in possession, controlling the pace of games and picking their moments to press when they need to get the ball back.
- The Old Lady are very solid at the back with Bremer in charge of the defensive line, keeping back-to-back clean sheets during their recent wins over Benfica and Napoli.
- Spalletti’s tactical flexibility has given them a disciplined structure to get out of trouble when out of possession, but also allows them to rotate players into spaces to disrupt compact blocks that other teams have tried to sit in front of them.
Head-to-Head
Juventus have a perfect record in UEFA competition against Monaco, winning four and drawing one of the pair’s five previous encounters.
Key Players
- Monaco
- Monaco’s big creative stars, Aleksandr Golovin and Maghnes Akliouche, are good players in advanced positions but they have not been given much of a chance to create because their defence has conceded multiple goals in January.
- Folarin Balogun is the best forward they have, having scored in both league and cup competitions, but his finishing has been sporadic while the team has struggled to keep clean sheets.
- Juventus
- Jonathan David has been in a hot streak for Juve, including the key goal against Napoli, while also providing clever runs and holding the ball up well.
- Kenan Yıldız has contributed goals and assists recently and has provided the spark up front for Spalletti.
- Dusan Vlahović remains out with an adductor injury, so David and Loïs Openda will once again be required to fill the forward line.
- Bremer is in charge of the defensive line and helped keep back-to-back clean sheets during their recent wins.
Betting Insights
- Juventus are favored at 2.0 with the draw at 3.4.
- Monaco are listed at 3.6 in the match market.
- The Over 2.5 goals market is favored at 1.7.
Prediction
- Juve are playing the better soccer at the moment and, with Khéphren Thuram and Weston McKennie locking up the midfield and providing attacking thrust from the second line in both the UCL and Serie A, this game looks likely to favour the visitors.
- There is a huge gap in form between these clubs, with Juventus close to the top of Serie A on 42 points, while Monaco are languishing mid-table in Ligue 1.
- Juventus can win this match by edging a close game in a tactical chess match between two very different systems.
