Monaco vs Juventus Betting Preview

Kick-off: Wednesday, May 3 @7:45 PM GMT

Venue: Stade Louis II (Monaco)

Head to head record

Monaco vs Juventus 0-0 (2014/2015 Champions League)
Juventus vs Monaco 1-0 (2014/2015 Champions League)

Monaco vs Juventus prediction

Monaco welcome Juventus at their Stade Louis II in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals. Les Rouges et Blancs aim to claim yet another major scalp in the elite competition, but beating the Bianconeri in the two-legged tie is easier said than done.

A season to remember

Thanks to a 3-1 win over Toulouse Monaco moved one step closer to winning the Ligue 1 title and, on the other hand, by beating the likes of Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund the team set up a meeting with Juventus in the Champions League semis. Les Rouges et Blancs demolished the Millionaires in the quarter-finals of the elite competition, but they will have a much bigger fish to fry in the double-header against Juventus. French teenager Kylian Mbappe is enjoying a season to remember and he is likely to be deployed up front, alongside Radamel Falcao, who has been scoring goals for fun as well. Monaco are a real force to be reckoned with at home, but they will have to be at their sharpest on Wednesday evening if they are to beat Juve in the first leg. Anyhow, you should bear in mind that Leonardo Jardim’s troops are after their fifth consecutive win at home ground in the elite competition.

Coach Leonardo Jardim can’t count on injured trio Boschilia, Guido Carillo and Djibril Sidibe, while the likes of Tiemoue Bakayoko and Almamy Traore are both rated doubtful. There are no suspended players in the home team.

Juve proved their worth against Barca

Despite being regarded as underdogs in the tie against Barcelona, Juventus did remarkably well to crush the Catalan giants in the Champions League quarter-finals. The Bianconeri managed to keep a clean sheet in each of the two meetings with Barca and, no doubt, they are going to rely on their rock-solid defence in Wednesday’s clash against Monaco. Max Allegri’s men head into the match following a 2-2 draw with Atalanta in Bergamo, but despite dropping two points in the game against the Orobici, Juve are likely to defend their Serie A trophy. Paulo Dybala impressed in the two-legged tie against Barcelona and the Argentine attacker is likely to make life difficult for Monaco shaky defense in the Stade Louis II showdown. Juventus are undefeated in previous five away games in the Champions League and that is certainly giving fans a reason for optimism ahead of the trip to Monaco. As before, Gonzalo Higuain is likely to lead the line for the Bianconeri against Leonardo Jardim’s men.

Important midfielder Sami Khedira is banned, with Claudio Marchisio likely to step up, whilst Marko Pjaca remains in the recovery room. Daniele Rugani is a major doubt and he will be assessed on the match day.

Interesting facts

• Monaco have yet to score against Juventus in a competitive match
• Juve are eyeing their sixth consecutive clean sheet in CL
• Leonardo Jardim’s charges are after their fifth straight win at home
• Kylian Mbappe has netted five goals in CL so far this season
• Bianconeri are undefeated in previous ten games in CL

Monaco vs Juventus betting pick

Both Monaco and Juventus have been producing terrific performances in the Champions League this season and a close encounter appears on the cards. Les Rouges et Blancs are tough to beat at home and seeing that Juve look solid as a rock at the back, there is every chance the two teams will share the spoils in the first leg.

Pick: Draw

Odds: 5/2