Monaco take on the visitors Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of UEFA Europa League 1/16-final round. The first leg result: 3-2. The match will be played on Thursday, February 23rd at Stade Louis II (Monaco).
Monaco has gained momentum again during the season, and notably, this time, without a coaching reshuffle. Although the scenario in 2021 and 2022 was very similar: first, a 3rd place in Ligue 1, but then an unfortunate failure in the Champions League qualification in the summer. However, the French team performed well in the Europa League group stage, earning 6 out of 10 points in matches against Crvena Zvezda, which was enough to secure second place. They approached the playoffs on the back of good form, having not lost a match in the domestic championship since the resumption of the season. Moreover, they won all four of their last matches, including against PSG, and even managed to win in Leverkusen. So now, they only need to avoid losing at home.
| 2 x £10 Free Bet | Review | |||
| 100$-500$ for No Lose Free Bets | Review | |||
| 100% up to £200 | Review | |||
| Not available | Review |
Bayer has been unable to gain momentum and achieve stability. The start was so unsuccessful that even Georardo Seoane's successful results last season did not save him from resignation. In the previous season, the Swiss coach led his new team to third place "from scratch", and they returned to the Champions League for the first time in a couple of years. But even with Xavi Alonso, there has been no sharp progress. There are some successes, including the fact that they managed to win against Atletico Madrid Atletico in the battle for 3rd place in the Champions League group stage. They also won a couple of times in the Bundesliga, both before and after the break. However, after a few victories, they suffered setbacks against Borussia Dortmund and Augsburg. After that, they were only able to take maximum points from the crisis-hit "Hoffenheim", and they suffered defeats against Monaco in the Europa League and against "Mainz" on their home ground, with an identical score of 2-3. Although they managed to respond twice to an own goal by Gradetski, the game still ended in a defeat. Now they need to win away - do they believe in Leverkusen that they can do it?
Head-to-head statistics: In their previous match in 2016, Bayer won, but Monaco had 3 wins with only one draw in their previous encounters in 1997 and 2014. Bookmakers tend to expect Monaco to win the upcoming match, but fans can expect a spectacular game. It is recommended to bet on "total over 2.5 goals".
Prediction for the match: Over 2.5 scored goals.
