AS Monaco vs. Stade de Reims 8/23/20 Ligue 1 Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

AS Monaco is welcoming Stade de Reims to Stade Louis II in round 1 in French Ligue 1.

Monaco has won the title a few years back, but they have been struggling since then. The problem is that most of the good players Monaco has, they can’t keep them for longer than two seasons. In the preseason, Monaco was solid with 2 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss. Last season, Monaco ended in 9th place with 40 points, 44 scored goals, and 44 conceded goals, and unfortunately for Monaco, they will not play in any of the European competitions. Offensively, Monaco was good last season, but their defense was a disaster, which will now change with the arrival of Niko Kovac as the head coach. Kovac is known for his defensive soccer, but his teams can still produce a lot of offense when needed, and I think that is just what Monaco needed. There are no injuries or suspensions in Monaco at the moment. As of right now, Disasi is the biggest signing for Monaco, he was bought from Reims for 13 million Euros. There weren’t any notable departures, except maybe Kamil Glik who went to Benevento in Italy. Monaco is a good team with some fantastic players like Ben Yedder, Keita Balde, Traore, Fabregas, Jovetic, and Sidibe, but they weren’t consistent over the last few seasons. Hopefully, Kovac will bring some defensive consistency to this team, and get them close to PSG at the top.

Reims has played a lot of games in the preseason, and they were pretty good with 4 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses. The bad news for Reims is that in their three losses, they haven’t scored a goal in any of those games. Reims ended last season in 6th place with 41 points, really close to the Europa League, and they have conceded only 21 goals in 28 games, which is the least in the Ligue 1. Offensively, Reims wasn’t doing so good and they have scored only 26 goals. Donis is the only injured player for Reims, and he will miss the start of the season. Berisha and Donis are Reims’ biggest signings in the offseason, while Disasi and Kamara have both left the club, Disasi to Monaco, while Kamara left to Nice. Reims was high on the standings last season because of their defense, but I’m not sure they can do the same this season. The competition is getting stronger and stronger every year, and teams like Reims can play and focus on defense one season, but they will get buried next one because they lack offense. I think Reims won’t have problems staying out of the relegation zone, but that’s about it.

When playing at home, Monaco has not lost to Reims in their last 6 games. The trends are mixed here, and we have a lot of draws, but Monaco is the better team here and I will side with them as they have a new coach, new game style, and it’s important to win the opening game of the season at home.