AS Monaco vs. Montpellier 10/24/21 Ligue 1 Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

AS Monaco is welcoming Montpellier to Stade Louis II in round 11 of the French Ligue 1. Monaco has broken their positive run in Ligue 1 against Lyon last weekend, but they bounced back in the Europa League earlier this week. Montpellier was without a win for 4 games in a row, but they were able to get a win against Lens last weekend at home.

Monaco is a solid team, still a bit inconsistent, but they are improving and climbing the standings. With 14 points, Monaco is now in 11^th place. Offensively, Monaco is getting the job done, but defensively, they are sloppy, and they tend to lose focus a lot. In that Europa League game against PSV on the road earlier this week, Monaco has had 46% of ball possession, 4 shots on goal, 3 corner kicks, 4 big chances created, and 75% of the correct passes. Monaco had the lead at halftime, but PSV tied the score in the 59^th minute. Fortunately for Monaco, they were focused, and they were able to score a winner in the 89^th minute. The good news for Monaco is most of their players have recovered from injuries, and they will need them all for this game because they haven’t had a lot of time to rest. With 5 scored goals and 2 assists, Ben Yedder is the leading goalscorer for Monaco, while Diop has added 3 goals. This is a good team, they work hard, but they still make those childish mistakes, which is something coach Kovac will need to fix fast.

As I’ve mentioned, Montpellier has been a bit sloppy this season, and thanks to that they are in the bottom half of the table, in 13^th place with 13 points. Offensively, Montpellier has done well with 17 scored goals, but they have conceded 16 goals, and that is not good enough. In their last game against Lens at home, Montpellier has had 50% of ball possession, 6 shots o goal, 3 corner kicks, 2 big chances created, and 78% of the correct passes. This was a tough game, with a lot of fouls, a lot of yellow cards, and a red card for Montpellier in the 86^th minute. Luckily for Montpellier, they were able to score a goal in the 48^th minute, and they were able to hold onto that lead. Laborde, Germain, and Mavididi have each scored 3 goals for Montpellier so far, while Savanier added 5 assists. Mendes, Oyongo, Temas, and Thuler are injured, while Ferri is suspended because of the red card. This will be another hard game for Montpellier, especially because Monaco is creating a lot of chances, and their defense is really bad.

Montpellier is still without a win on the road this season, and I think it will stay that way. Monaco has won their last 3 home games in a row, and they are the better team overall. The price on Monaco is not great, but we can get a better one with the handicap.