Seeking to return to winnings ways after suffering a midweek defeat in Europe, Monaco travel to Northeastern France to face Reims in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
The hosts are yet to win at the Stade Auguste-Delaune II so far this season, while the visitors have picked up seven points from a possible nine on the road.
Match preview
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Reims were unable to extend their unbeaten run to five matches after they lost 1-0 away against newly-promoted Toulouse last weekend.
Zakaria Aboukhlal scored the only goal just after the half-hour mark before Reims' hopes of a comeback were dealt a blow midway through the second half when Alexis Flips was shown a straight red card for a cynical foul as the last man.
Oscar Garcia, who is able to return to the dugout this weekend after serving a two-game touchline ban, has seen his side slip to 16th in the Ligue 1 standings, just one point above the relegation zone but only three points behind the top half.
Many teams would welcome the return to home soil, but Reims have struggled at the Stade Auguste-Delaune II since the turn of the year, winning only two of their 13 top-flight home matches in 2022, fewer than any other team in the division.
However, Les rouges et blancs head into Sunday's contest having lost only one of their last eight Ligue 1 meetings against Monaco since they returned to the top flight four years ago, and they won their most recent encounter against them 2-1 away from home in February.
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Monaco have made an inconsistent start to the new season, winning three, drawing two and losing two of their opening seven Ligue 1 fixtures.
Philippe Clement will, though, have been impressed with his side's performances in their back-to-back victories over Nice and Lyon, beating the former 1-0 on the road and the latter 2-1 on home soil last weekend.
However, Les Monegasques have since suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat at home to Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros in the Europa League on Thursday, their third home defeat in four matches across all competitions.
Clement's men have fared better away from home, however, as they are unbeaten in their last eight Ligue 1 matches on the road, scoring at least twice on six of those occasions.
Monaco, who have finished third in the last two seasons, currently sit seventh in the table, but a victory over Reims – who they have kept a clean sheet against in four of their last five visits to the Stade Auguste-Delaune II – could see them climb into the top five.
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Team News
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Reims will be without the suspended Alexis Flips, while Azor Matusiwa, Kaj Sierhuis, Thomas Foket and Valon Berisha are all ruled out with injuries.
Maxime Busi is the most likely candidate to replace Flips at right wing-back, with Bradley Locko set to keep his place on the opposite flank.
Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogun, who has five goals in as many starts for Reims, is expected to start again in attack alongside Japanese forward Junya Ito.
As for Monaco, German forward Kevin Volland remains sidelined with an ankle injury, while Willem Geubbels and Guillermo Maripan are both doubtful and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
Myron Boadu came off the bench in midweek after recovering from injury and he could be in contention to start in attack this weekend along with Wissam Ben Yedder.
Either Krepin Diatta or Aleksandr Golovin may drop out of the side as a result, while the rest of the starting lineup is expected to remain intact.
Reims possible starting lineup:
Pentz; Gravillon, Agbadou, Abdelhamid; Busi, Lopy, Munetsi, Locko; Doumbia; Balogun, Ito
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Disasi, Sarr, Badiashile; Vanderson, Fofana, Camara, Henrique; Golovkin; Boadu, Ben Yedder
We say: Reims 1-2 Monaco
Reims have a good record against Monaco in recent years, but they have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 13 Ligue 1 fixtures, so the visitors – who have scored in each of their last 17 league games – will fancy their chances of finding the net.
Monaco will be the favourites on Sunday and we can see them bouncing back from their midweek defeat to claim maximum points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
