Lively goal spectacle in the Principality?

The draw for the Champions League group stage is drawing ever closer, the clubs in the qualifiers are becoming more prominent and the density of performance is also increasing. Only six clubs will make it into the 32-team field via the play-offs. Currently, however, we are only in the third qualifying round.

This will be the eagerly awaited clash between Monaco and PSV Eindhoven. According to the odds, it is difficult for the bookmakers to name a favourite to advance in the run-up to the first leg. There are many indications that the form of the day will be decisive in both matches. However, slight advantages are given to the home team, even though the Dutch runners-up have already played a competitive match in the new season, unlike the Monegasques.

New coach Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side won the Dutch Super Cup 5-2 against Ajax Amsterdam at the weekend after an attacking display that gave them plenty of confidence.

But the players from the Principality have no need to hide after their sensational finish to the 2021/22 season. Even before the first leg kicks off on Tuesday evening, we wouldn’t be surprised if a prediction of a few goals in the course of the match between Monaco and PSV Eindhoven pays off.

Monaco – Statistics & current form

It comes as a real surprise that AS Monaco will be able to breathe Champions League air this season. After 28 matchdays last season, the Monegasques were still in eighth place and a considerable nine points behind the top three they were aiming for.

Then, however, the 3-0 victory over Paris St. Germain heralded a turnaround that was no longer thought possible. The team of Kovac’s successor Philippe Clement won nine of the last ten league games, remained completely unbeaten and actually catapulted to third place, which entitles them to qualify for the top flight in France.

Clement has led Monaco back to the top

The initially critical Philippe Clement, who previously presided over a successful era at Club Brugge, now has a strong record of 14 wins, five draws and five defeats since taking charge. Hopes are high in the principality that the eight-time French champions can play a significant role in the upcoming Ligue 1 season from the start and perhaps even annoy serial champions Paris St. Germain a little.

First, however, the full focus is on international competition, where the Monegasques failed to reach the last 16 of the Europa League against Braga in pre-season. Before that, they were knocked out of the CL playoffs by Shakhtyor Donetsk. Their last group stage appearance dates back to the 2018/19 season, and they still have two more hurdles to clear via the placement route in order to end this four-year drought.

With Tchouameni still lacking the right balance

The fact that bookmakers are cautious with a pronounced favourite role in favour of the home side and are offering odds of over 2.00 on the home win even in the first leg at the Stade Louis II between Monaco and PSV Eindhoven is surely also due to the fact that the White and Reds lost arguably their most important player in Tchouamenie during the summer. The 22-year-old top talent moved to Real Madrid for 80 million euros. In return, however, they also invested in new players. The most prominent new arrivals are certainly Minamino from Liverpool and Embolo from Gladbach, who should further strengthen the already strong offensive line-up.

It already became clear in the preparation that Clement still wants to practise attractive attacking football. In five of seven test matches, both teams always scored. In the last three games, however, AS remained winless against Inter Milan (2:2), Porto (1:2) and Southampton (1:3) and conceded a few goals. It is possible that this trend will continue in the qualifying first leg.

Predicted Monaco line-up:
Nübel; Aguilar, Disasi, Maripan, Henrique; Vanderson, Fofana, Lucas, Golovin; Volland, Ben Yedder

Last matches played by Monaco:

Club friendlies
28/07/2022 – Southampton 3 – 1 AS Monaco

24/07/2022 – FC Porto 2 – 1 AS Monaco

17/07/2022 – Inter Milan 2 – 2 AS Monaco

09/07/2022 – AS Monaco 2 – 0 Portimonense

06/07/2022 – AS Monaco 2 – 2 Austria Wien

PSV Eindhoven – Statistics & current form

In terms of competitive fixtures, PSV Eindhoven are already ahead of their upcoming opponents. The “Rood-Witten” crowned themselves Super Cup Champions in Holland in a spectacular final against Ajax Amsterdam, similar to last year. In the first official competition match after coach Roger Schmidt’s change to Benfica Lisbon, PSV held their own against the reigning champions with a 5:3 win and were particularly convincing offensively.

In the debut match of new coach Van Nistelrooy, it was a newcomer who was the absolute match-winner. Guus Til, who also tried his luck at Freiburg and was loaned to Feyenoord Rotterdam last season, scored three goals and stole the show from the more famous newcomer Luuk de Jong. The bottom line, however, was a promising team performance that whets the appetite for the new season.

Mutiful PSV want to quench their unbridled thirst for goals

The 24-time Dutch champions would love to mastermind qualification for the CL group stage again after 2018/19, but they will need a better international showing than last season to do so. After losing the play-offs to Benfica, the Red and Whites were also eliminated in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League, but at least made it to the quarter-finals of the Conference League.

Although a different calibre now awaits, we have every confidence in van Nistelrooy’s side and are not averse to betting on the plucky visitors in the first leg between Monaco and PSV Eindhoven, for example.

Thanks to the impressive success against Ajax, the 2-1 win in the dress rehearsal against Betis Sevilla or the passable performance against the CL semi-finalists Villarreal (1-2), it must be fair to assume that the Dutch cup winners will also score at least one goal in the Principality. A bet on double chance X2 should also be within the realms of possibility.

Predicted line-up of PSV Eindhoven:
Benitez; Hoever, Teze, Ramalho, Max; Veerman, Sangare; Bakayoko, Til, Gakpo; De Jong

Last matches played by PSV Eindhoven:

Super Cup
31/07/2022 – Ajax Amsterdam 3 – 5 PSV Eindhoven

Friendly club matches
23/07/2022 – PSV Eindhoven 2 – 1 Real Betis

20/07/2022 – PSV Eindhoven 5 – 0 Eindhoven

16/07/2022 – PSV Eindhoven 1 – 2 FC Villarreal

09/07/2022 – Arminia Bielefeld 4 – 0 PSV Eindhoven

Monaco – PSV Eindhoven Direct comparison / H2H balance

On the international stage, the clubs have already faced each other in six competitive matches. After four Champions League and two Europa League matches, the balance is absolutely even with two wins for both teams and two draws. In fact, this was also the case in the previous season, when they played out a goalless draw at the Stade Louis II in the EL group stage. This time, there should be more spectacle and more goals.

Monaco – PSV Eindhoven Tip

The two clubs faced each other in the Europa League group stage last season. With Niko Kovac and Roger Schmidt, two former Bundesliga coaches were also in charge, but they have since taken on new tasks. The new coaches are Phillipe Clement and Ruud van Nistelrooy. After 2018/19, both clubs should once again make it to the main draw of the top flight.

On the way there, the third-round first leg in the qualifiers naturally has immense significance, especially when you consider that no clear favourite for progress can be identified. In front of a home crowd, lower betting odds are offered on Monaco against PSV Eindhoven, but the runners-up of the Dutch Eredivisie should not be underestimated at all.

It is possible that de Jong and Co. are even a small step ahead of the Monegasques. This is supported by the fact that the “Rood-Witten” already won the Super Cup against Ajax at the weekend and were also able to put some exclamation marks in their preparation. Especially the offensive was convincing all along the line. But the attack around former German international Kevin Volland also has a lot of quality and is always good for a goal.

Therefore, in the duel Monaco vs. PSV Eindhoven we bet on both teams scoring. For the “BTS”, a 1.70 is offered at the top. We choose six out of ten units for the bet. For risk-averse bettors, it might even be an option to combine the Over 1.5 with the Double Chance X2. We secretly believe that PSV will be in a good position for the second leg next week