Saturday 09/08/2014, 21:00, France Ligue 1, Round 1, Monaco vs Lorient
Monaco vs Lorient Preview
There are plenty of reasons for why Monaco failed to win the title last season but the most frustrating thing is that they didn't come even close of beating PSG. Perhaps the biggest frustration was caused by the fact that their best striker was sidelined for most of the season after suffering a serious injury. The good news is that Falcao is fit to play and has joined his teammates in several friendly games, which means that he will be present tonight against Lorient.
Monaco vs Lorient Odds
At Bet365
Monaco 1.40, Draw 4.40, Lorient 8.75
Monaco vs Lorient Tips
Falcao suffered a freak injury earlier this year and despite the physicians' best efforts he was unable to recover in time for the World Cup 2014. Columbia did pretty well without him but Monaco was unable to compensate his absence and had to settle for the second place. This season, they will need to aim higher than that and it is essential to start on the right foot by winning the opening match.
PSG is playing on the road but they are favorites to prevail away from home, which means that the pressure on Monaco to win is crushing. On the bright side, the team played a lot of friendly games and manager Jardim got the chance to test several players, using Falcao won just three occasions.
Monaco was impressive over the last month and a half, winning five of the six friendly games and scoring more than 20 goals in the process.
Furthermore, they managed to shut down opponents on three occasions and prevailed away from home at Arsenal. Tonight they will throw everything they've got at Lorient, as they expect to play against a defensive minded opponent, with limited options upfront.
There are very few reasons to fear Lorient tonight, after the visiting team managed to win a single match in five friendly games. They scored an average of one goal and just twice they succeed in preventing opponents from scoring, while fighting an uphill battle on three occasions.
Key Facts
- With Falcao fit to play, Monaco can use a 4-3-3 starting formation and is expected to come out firing on all cylinders.
- Lorient is still looking for its first victory in Monaco, after losing eight times in 10 rounds
Monaco vs Lorient Prediction
This is very likely to be a one-sided match, with Monaco steamrolling past their opponents, so punters shouldn't settle for tiny odds of 1.40. Instead, they should trust the hosts to cover the -1.5 goals spread and enjoy odds of 2.15 with Bet365.
Bet: Monaco -1.5 goals @ 2.15 with Bet365
