Strabsourg couldn’t avoid defeat last Sunday afternoon when the team visited Caen and got outplayed with a 2:0 result. The game didn’t look like a one sided one, however home side manage to strike a goal at the end of each halftime to seal the victory.

First part of the game wasn’t that interesting, with the players of Strabourgh having much more of the ball possession, but the hosts exploited one of rare chances via Crivelli in 43rd minute, while the second halftime looked similar. Guests had dominance in ball possession, but the players of Caen were threatening far better via counter attacks managing to seal the victory in 87th minute with a goal from Guilbert.

It was third game without a victory for Strasbourg as the side lost to PSG and took a point in a home draw against Montpellier previously, being now at fifteenth position with just three points more than relegating placed Troyes, being close to a must situation to get away with something here. Defender Kader Mangane (18/1) comes off from injury and shouldn’t be playing here.

After a setback away from home against Toulouse and a 3:3 draw, players of Monaco responded with a bit better performance in front of own fans and managed to get a 2:1 narrow victory last Friday night over Bordeaux in previous Ligue 1 round.

They were better from the start, however Bordeaux took the lead first against the flow of the game thanks to a goal from Vada in 32nd minute, but hosts replied just before the halftime whistle via Jovetic. It was mostly about the home team in the repetition, as they sealed the victory thanks to goal from Rony Lopes and far better ball movement overall.

The side now continues to be second at the table with fourteen points less than PSG (title battle probably lost already), while they have now four points more than third placed Marseille and remain in a must win situation since only first two positions lead directly to Champions League group stage.

Midfielder Adama Traore (3/3) is injured and out for a long time now, while doubtful coming from injuries remain forward Falcao (20/17) and goalkeeper Diego Benaglio (3/0).

• Monaco are undefeated in their last 13 matches.

Monaco remains a strong favorite in this one and should record the victory, however their defensive lineup is far away from a perfectly working one and I expect the home side to be very threatning too. Having in mind recent matches of Monaco, both teams to score and over goals seems like the most logical choice.

* Odds as of post published time and are subject to change.

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