Europa League: Monaco vs. Bayer Leverkusen Preview, Odds, Prediction

Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen delivered the most entertaining clash in last week’s Europa League playoff events. The French unit triumphed 3-2 in Germany, and even though it was a great success, the team from the south of France is still not safe. We often saw German clubs flipping the score on the road, and for sure, Leverkusen has the quality to do so. The hosts are in excellent shape, winning game after game, which can’t be said for Bayer. Though, the wounded lion is always the most dangerous. 

Preview

Monaco (+120) is without a loss in the past eight games, triumphing in six and recording two draws. For the moment, the team from Monte Carlo rides a five-game winning streak, during which they showed incredible efficiency.

In all of those events, Monaco netted at least two goals, and when looking further back in the past, they’ve done the same in eight of nine encounters. The offensive-minded style of play is suitable for Philippe Clement’s crew, and for the moment, they play not only efficient but effective football as well. 

After suffering elimination from the Coupe de France to Rodez, Monaco was victorious in the following three home clashes. They’ve demolished AC Ajaccio, 7-1, then Auxerre, 3-2, and eventually, rolled over PSG, 3-1. It was the main proof of Monaco’s fantastic form. 

Bayer Leverkusen (+220) opened the second part of the campaign with two wins, beating Monchengladbach and Bochum, but after that, collapsed. Leverkusen lost four of the following five games.

The biggest problem of this unit is the weak defense. Just one clean sheet in the last seven events is not a good stat, and the previous two defeats came via three conceded goals.

After losing 3-2 at home to Monaco, we saw the same result at BayArena, only this time the opponent was Mainz. We can’t really say what happened with Bayer and its back line, yet it is evident that the defense’s form significantly dropped. Just to mention that four of Bayer’s previous five outings saw three or more goals. 

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There is a hospital in Monaco, but Clement got used to it. Aguilar, Maripan, Martins, Vanderson, and Levin Volland are all out for the hosts.

On the other side, Aranguiz, Lunev, and arguably the best player, forward Diaby, won’t be in the protocol in Monte Carlo. 

Head to Head Games

These two teams often met in the past. In 1997, 2014 and 2016 Champions League editions, and for the moment, the score is on Monaco’s side, with four wins, two draws, and one win posted by Leverkusen. 

Prediction

The hosts are in an excellent situation, playing incredible football while having high self-esteem. Everything is opposite to where Bayer Leverkusen is, as the Germans not only face those problems but the pressure from the fans to post one relevant success and stop the crisis. Bayer will have to go all-in against Monaco, and they won’t calculate. This should open the game early on and force Monaco to attack as well, so we should see a lot of goals in this event. The odds on over 2.5 scores are -125, and we are taking this offer.

Pick: Over 2.5 goals -125

Here are more previews for the UCL Round of 16:

• RB Leipzig vs. Manchester City
• Liverpool vs. Real Madrid
• Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Napoli
• Inter vs. Porto

Here are the previews for the Europa League games:

• Union Berlin vs. Ajax
• Manchester United vs. Barcelona