Having conceded three goals in defeat on their own patch in the first leg, Dortmund face a tough task at the Stade Louis II on Wednesday night. With the tie set up the way it is, Monaco are in a strong position and will surely fancy their chances of putting their 3-2 aggregate lead to good use in front of a home crowd.
The French side continued to prove their attacking credentials in Germany last week and are fancied to do the same here. The bet that stands out is ‘Monaco to Score Over 1.5 Goals’. Even at the odds-on price of 5/6, this one looks a tad overpriced.
As far as goal-scoring goes, Monaco have been just about the best of the best in Europe this season. Leonardo Jardim’s men have scored 90 goals in France’s Ligue 1, as well as 18 in the Champions League. With players such as Bernardo Silva, Radamel Falcao and youngster Kylian Mbappé, the principality side have the perfect blend of experience, creativity and raw pace in the forward areas – a mix that is helping to yield results on a regular basis.
Having exposed frailties in the Dortmund back-line last week, the hosts should be confident of doing so once again. The fact that Dortmund have to score at least twice really does bode well for the home side, after all, they’ve proved deadly on the counter-attack all season long.
Dortmund are no pushovers and there’s every chance that they’ll come into this game with the belief that they can go through. The visitors are blessed with plenty of attacking strength of their own and can certainly create chances. However, as was evident last week, defence is not their strong point, not by a long shot. At the weekend, although they secured victory in the Bundesliga, defensive weaknesses were showcased once again as they conceded at home to a relatively low-scoring Freiburg side. Against the forward might of this Monaco team, you have to fear for Thomas Tuchel’s rearguard.
When this pair meet again on Wednesday night, backing the side who’ve scored at least twice in 22 of their 27 home matches so far this season to bag another couple is an opportunity not to be missed.
More Champions League tips can be found here.