Champions League | League Stage

Oct 22, 2024 at 5.45pm UK

Stade Louis II.

Monaco vs Red Star

Match preview

Monaco are off to a great start this season, unbeaten after 10 games and still in the running to win the French league. They're keeping pace with Paris Saint-Germain at the top.

Despite drawing 0-0 with Lille on Friday, Jordan Teze's red card on the hour mark ultimately meant that the club from the principality got a good point, even though PSG's win the following day saw them go above Monaco on goal difference.

That was another challenge to their unbeaten streak, but Monaco got through it. They had to weather a storm both literally and figuratively in their last Champions League match, going from 2-0 down to draw with Dinamo Zagreb. Denis Zakaria scored a late penalty.

After also beating Barcelona on matchday one, Monaco now has the chance to start their UCL campaign with three unbeaten games for the first time since 2016-17. That was a season where they reached the semi-finals.

The current team doesn't have the same star quality as the Monaco squad did, but they'll still be confident against a Red Star side they beat twice just two seasons ago – winning 4-1 here and 1-0 in Belgrade.

Luka Ilić led his team to another win on Friday night, helping the Serbs maintain their healthy lead at the top of the Super League with a 5-1 victory over Radnički Niš.

In a pretty unusual match, Red Star seemed to relax a bit, even though they were leading 3-0 at halftime. Goalkeeper Marko Ilic had to make 11 second-half saves to keep Radnicki from scoring, in a game that saw 32 shots on target.

With very little competition at home, Red Star has struggled to make the step up in the Champions League. They haven't won any of their previous 12 matches in the competition, losing 11.

Red Star are even worse away from home, losing 11 matches in a row on the road. They've conceded 37 goals and scored only six, which is why it's no surprise they haven't made it past the first stage of the competition since they won it in 1991.

Vladan Milojević's side will have to make history if they want to end any of those dry spells. As it stands, Red Star have never won a European fixture away in France on eight visits, conceding at least twice in all of those encounters.

Recent Performance

Monaco Champions League form:WD

Monaco form (all competitions):WWWDWD

Red Star Belgrade Champions League form:LWLL

Red Star Belgrade form (all competitions):LWWLWW

Injuries and suspensions

Monaco

6 Denis Zakaria

37 Edan Diop

9 Folarin Balogun

Red Star Belgrade

71 Adem Avdic

70 Ognjen Mimovic

4 Mirko Ivanic

Possible starting lineups

Monaco possible starting lineup:

Kohn; Vanderson, Singo, Kehrer, Caio Henrique; Zakaria, Camara; Akliouche, Minamino, Ben Seghir; Embolo

Red Star Belgrade possible starting lineup:

Glazer; Seol, Spajic, Drkusic, Djiga; Krunic, Elsnik, L Ilic; Silas, Ndiaye, Olayinka