Bayer Leverkusen – Monaco : Preview & Prediction
A great match awaits us this Thursday at the BayArena when in the first leg of the knockout round of the Europa League playoffs the German team Bayer Leverkusen faces the French team AS Monaco.
Xabi Alonso’s men have just returned to winning ways, when they beat Hoffenheim (1-3) away from home, leaving behind a streak of two consecutive league defeats, and are now eighth in the standings, eight points below European positions.
Now it is time to focus on the Europa League, a competition to which they are coming on the back of a third place finish in their Champions League group, where Die Schwarzroten recorded only one win in their six matches.
But here they want to impose their home advantage, where they have only one defeat in their last six official matches (3 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss); in addition, at home in the Europa League they have three wins in their last four matches, which allowed them to reach the round of 16 in the last edition.
The only confirmed absentee for Thursday’s match is Chilean midfielder Charles Aránguiz due to injury, while goalkeeper Andrey Lunev is a doubt.
For their part, Philippe Clement’s men are in a great moment and come from beating none other than PSG (3-1) with a double from Wissam Ben Yedder, a result that led them to be unbeaten in their last thirteen matches in all competitions (8 wins, 4 draws, 1 loss).
The Monegasques are third in the Ligue 1 standings, two points behind second-placed Olympique Marseille, and are looking to maintain that consistency in the Europa League, where they finished second in their group on goal difference.
Monaco have not lost in their last six official away matches (3 wins, 3 draws), but their record in that condition in the Europa League is not the best, with just one win in their last five matches.
Here they face a Bayer Leverkusen against whom they lost in their last visit (3-0), making it two games without defeat, but with Wissam Ben Yedder in attack and the return of defender Vanderson, they hope to break this negative streak.
Bayer Leverkusen – Monaco : Betting Tips
Bayer Leverkusen – Win Odds: 2.25
