Metz vs. AS Monaco 8/30/20 Ligue 1 Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Metz is hosting AS Monaco at Stade Saint Symphorien in round 2 in French Ligue 1.

Metz has been playing extremely well in the preseason, and in their 7 friendly games, Metz has 5 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw. During this stretch, Metz has scored at least 1 goal in 6 of their 7 games, 13 goals in total, while conceding in 5 of said 7 games, 8 goals in total. Last season, Metz ended in 15th place with 34 points, only 27 scored goals, and 35 conceded goals, and they will not be playing in any of the European competitions this season. Metz was supposed to play against PSG in their season opener, but that game was postponed as PSG was playing in the Champions League finals last Sunday. Cabit and N’Doram are both injured, and they will miss this game. There have been quite a few incoming transfers in Metz, from which the most notable is N’Doram from Monaco for 4.95 million Euros. There are no significant departures from Metz. The schedule at the beginning of the season is tough for Metz, but they have been playing well in the preseason, and I think they could be a dark horse in these early stages of Ligue 1.

Monaco hasn’t played a lot of friendly games in the preseason, but they were decent in the games they have played. In their season opener against Reims, Monaco was a much better team with 76% of ball possession, 5 shots on goal, 8 corner kicks, 4 big chances created, and high 90% of the correct passes. After logins 0-2 early in the game because of their own mistakes, Monaco has gotten the control in their hands, and they were dominant and dangerous, but the most Monaco did was tying the score to 2-2, which was the final result of the game. Disasi and Badiashile have each scored 1 goal for Monaco so far. Golovin and Tchouameni each have 1 assist. Fabregas and Pellegri are both injured. Monaco’s both central defenders are new to the club, and it’s understandable that mistakes will be made until they get to know each other. Monaco is playing well, and they can hold possession on their side. Offensively, Monaco is dangerous when coming through their wingers, while Ben Yedder likes to drop down to receive the ball and distribute it further. I think Monaco will be the biggest threat to PSG this season, and I hope they might even take the title away from them.

The trends are mixed here, and Metz has had a lot of success against Monaco at home. Both Metz and Monaco are playing well at the moment, and both teams are scoring a solid amount of goals. Monaco is the better team here, there is no doubt about that, and I think they will win their first game of the season on the road, and we are getting them at a great price.