Monaco will look to bounce back from their first defeat of the season when they host newly-promoted Angers in Ligue 1 on Friday.

preview

After starting the season with an 11-game unbeaten run, Monaco will have been devastated at falling to a first defeat in the Derby de la Cote D'Azur last weekend against Nice.

Adi Hutter's men were top of the table heading into the international break, but after conceding top spot by drawing 0-0 at home to Lille, the side from the principality have now slipped three points behind Paris Saint-Germain after last week's result.

A first-half red card to Vanderson was ultimately costly, as Monaco squandered an early lead to lose 2-1 at the Allianz Riviera, with Gaetan Laborde netting the winner.

Being back on home soil should be a blessing though, as they are currently on their longest home unbeaten run (11 games) for almost seven years.

That run extends to 13 matches when all competitions are taken into account, and if Monaco can avoid suffering what would be back-to-back defeats for the first time in over 18 months here by winning, the pressure will shift back onto PSG, who do not play until Saturday against Lens.

The home side will be highly fancied too, considering they have won all of their last seven matches against Angers - their longest ongoing run against any top-flight side - with the four home wins in that spell being accompanied with clean sheets.

Angers will be buoyed by a first win of the campaign last week though, which had implications at the bottom, moving them up two places and out of the relegation zone entirely, despite spending almost all of the season so far at the foot of the Ligue 1 standings.

Alexandre Dujeux's side came through an intense encounter which saw them pegged back twice by Saint-Etienne, before eventually running out 4-2 winners at the Stade Raymond-Kopa.

Despite being the favourites for the drop, Angers have proven difficult to beat, with their only defeat in the last six games coming against Reims, holding Marseille to a draw in that run.

Angers now face the league's top two in their next two games though, so their mettle will be severely put to the test, especially given that they are still winless in 19 Ligue 1 away games.

Another winless away trip will see them become the first top-flight side since Lorient between late 2020 and early 2022 to go at least 20 games without victory on the road.

However, Dujeux's men are currently unbeaten in three away from the Raymond-Kopa, drawing each time, and another point here would be celebrated greatly, while also seeing them record their longest unbeaten run on the road for three years.

Monaco possible starting lineup:

Majecki; Singo, Mawissa Elebi, Kehrer, Caio Henrique; Camara, Zakaria; Akliouche, Golovin, Ben Seghir; Embolo

Angers possible starting lineup:

Fofana; Arcus, Biumia, Lefort, Hanin; Aholou, Belkhdim; Niane, Abdelli, El Melali; Dieng