CSKA Moscow vs AS Monaco: Preview and Prediction

CSKA Moscow vs AS Monaco
UEFA Champions League – Group E
Date: Tuesday, 18th October, 2016,
Kick-Off: 19:45 UK,
Venue: CSKA Stadion, Moscow.

Things haven’t gone well for CSKA Moscow in the 2016/17 season and they are without a win after two match days in the Champions League. Their domestic form has also taken a steep decline as they managed just one win from their last 4, combined from Russian cup and league games. Goal-scoring has been their problems in recent outing as they found the back of the net only twice in the last 5 games in all competitions. They are staring at an early exit from the Champions League group stage when they welcome Monaco after managing just 1 point from their two matches so far.

AS Monaco have 4 points from their first two matches and will be satisfied to have remained unbeaten against two strongest sides in the group. They started out with a surprise 2-1 win at Tottenham and then earned a 1-1 draw against Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen. They top the Group E at the moment, but Tottenham and Leverkusen are at a 1 and 2 point gap respectively. The situation demands the Ligue 1 side to win this fixture comprehensively to put them in a strong position to qualify before going into the second leg of group games next month.

CSKA Moscow vs AS Monaco: Head-to-Head Stats

This will be the first head-to-head meeting between CSKA and Monaco in a UEFA tournament. Howver, both sides have plenty of experience playing against clubs from their opponent’s country.

CSKA have played against French Ligue 1 sides in UEFA tournaments on 10 occasions and they have an even record with 4 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses. While the record at home is 2 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw from 5 matches.

Monaco also hold a similar kind of record against Russian clubs as their 8 UEFA matches saw them winning and losing 3 each along with 2 draws. At the same time, Monaco are yet to win while playing in Russia as they 4 previous visits resulted in 2 draws and 2 losses.

CSKA Moscow vs AS Monaco: Prediction

CSKA’s record in Champions League nights is slowly turning from bad to worse as they haven’t won a match since the 3-2 home victory against PSV at home last season. They will be coming to this match on the back of a 6 match win-less streak, with 4 among them being defeats. A side like Monaco takes no-sense and will be aiming to pile further misery on the Russian Champions.

Monaco are also unbeaten in their last 5 Champions League games, taking 4 wins along the way. They are currently coming on the back of a disappointing 3-1 loss against Toulouse in the weekend. And Leonardo Jardim doesn’t need any other reason to demand a strong showing from his troops on Tuesday night.