Real Madrid
- Real Madrid could prove too strong and well organised for Monaco to stop in a Champions League game with big implications on Tuesday, but the French visitors have the firepower to hurt the Spanish giants.
- Álvaro Arbeloa takes charge of the home side for the first full European night as interim boss while his opposite number, Sébastien Pocognoli, is trying to steady Monaco’s campaign after a turbulent autumn.
- Madrid have looked disjointed at times with mixed results from their last four games - a 2-0 win over Levante and 5-1 win over Real Betis in LaLiga followed by consecutive cup defeats to Albacete and Barcelona.
- The return of Kylian Mbappé from injury to score against Levante looks to have calmed some of the turmoil, however, and the former Paris Saint-Germain star remains their main goal threat.
- Jude Bellingham, meanwhile, is the heartbeat of Madrid’s midfield - driving attacks and controlling tempo with the best of the possession, although the results have been patchy.
Monaco
- Monaco, currently ninth in Ligue 1 on 23 points, have also been inconsistent.
- The coach sets his team up in a high-tempo 4-2-3-1 formation, pressing hard and playing vertically with wide overloads.
- The approach has worked well at times with a 1-0 away win over Paris Saint-Germain and 3-1 Coupe de France win, but it has also caused problems in their 3-1 league defeats to Lorient and Lyon.
- Maghnes Akliouche is the key player in Monaco’s set-up, controlling the tempo with Zakaria, and their defensive screen of Eric Dier and others must stay solid against Madrid’s transitions.
- Folarin Balogun has scored in two consecutive Champions League appearances and can be their main threat to the Madrid goal either from the start or off the bench.
Head-to-Head
Real and Monaco have met only twice competitively, in the 2003-04 Champions League quarter-finals , drawing 5-5 on aggregate with the French side going through on away goals.
Key Players
- The return of Kylian Mbappé from injury to score against Levante looks to have calmed some of the turmoil, however, and the former Paris Saint-Germain star remains their main goal threat.
- Maghnes Akliouche is the key player in Monaco’s set-up, controlling the tempo with Zakaria, and their defensive screen of Eric Dier and others must stay solid against Madrid’s transitions.
- Folarin Balogun has scored in two consecutive Champions League appearances and can be their main threat to the Madrid goal either from the start or off the bench.
Betting Insights
- With Real and Monaco occupying very different places in their domestic leagues at the moment, there is a wide gap between the odds for the two teams - Madrid are the heavy favorites at 1.3 and the visitors are as high as 8.4 with the draw 5.8.
- There are usually goals when these two clubs meet and, given Madrid’s superior quality and Monaco’s inability to keep clean sheets away from home in Ligue 1 - shipping three in each of their last two away trips - the BTTS market looks attractive at 2.2 in the circumstances.
- It is likely to be wide-open with the cool and potentially rainy weather in Madrid making for a physical, fast-paced game where transitions and set pieces could be crucial.
Prediction
The predicted score of 3-1 to Madrid reflects their superior overall quality and the fact that Monaco’s defensive problems and personnel absences could force this game to be tighter than it might otherwise have been.
