Champions League: Monaco - Bayer Leverkusen
We sided with the hosts for their opening group game at Wembley against Tottenham ........"Monaco are top of Ligue 1 and were certainly no less impressive than Spurs in a 4-1 away win at Lille on Saturday, they played with great pace and width, so Wembley should suit, they will be stronger today with a couple of regulars returning and arrive full of confidence. ASM upgraded in the summer and feel they are very different from the side who lost 4-1 at White Hart Lane last December in the Europa League. That was a half hearted performance from the visitors who were already on their way out of a competition they were not committed to and they were at the time still playing catch up in Ligue 1 for a Champions League place, their target for the season. Already competition battle hardened through playoff games with Villarreal where they won both legs, I favour them to take a point this evening in what could be a very entertaining contest."
They won that 2-1 and have taken both home games since, with their "blip", a 4-0 loss at rivals Nice sandwiched in between. It was key that they got back on track on Saturday after that heavy loss and this is a very different ASM to the one we have seen in recent campaigns, they are certainly more vulnerable defensively, but are on a different level at the other end of the pitch. 17 of their last 22 starts have gone "over", including 4 of 5 Champions League games and those 22 matches averaged 3.41 per game.
Bayer Leverkusen started with a 2-2 home draw with CSKA Moscow and like most German teams are used to playing an offensive style, their last seven group starts have averaged 4.14 goals and were far more open than even that suggests, they scored at Barcelona and Roma (twice) last season and can play their part in another open contest.
"over" 2.75 goals 2.25 asian line/Sportmarket
from Clubgowi newsletter
We sided with the hosts for their opening group game at Wembley against Tottenham ........"Monaco are top of Ligue 1 and were certainly no less impressive than Spurs in a 4-1 away win at Lille on Saturday, they played with great pace and width, so Wembley should suit, they will be stronger today with a couple of regulars returning and arrive full of confidence. ASM upgraded in the summer and feel they are very different from the side who lost 4-1 at White Hart Lane last December in the Europa League. That was a half hearted performance from the visitors who were already on their way out of a competition they were not committed to and they were at the time still playing catch up in Ligue 1 for a Champions League place, their target for the season. Already competition battle hardened through playoff games with Villarreal where they won both legs, I favour them to take a point this evening in what could be a very entertaining contest."
They won that 2-1 and have taken both home games since, with their "blip", a 4-0 loss at rivals Nice sandwiched in between. It was key that they got back on track on Saturday after that heavy loss and this is a very different ASM to the one we have seen in recent campaigns, they are certainly more vulnerable defensively, but are on a different level at the other end of the pitch. 17 of their last 22 starts have gone "over", including 4 of 5 Champions League games and those 22 matches averaged 3.41 per game.
Bayer Leverkusen started with a 2-2 home draw with CSKA Moscow and like most German teams are used to playing an offensive style, their last seven group starts have averaged 4.14 goals and were far more open than even that suggests, they scored at Barcelona and Roma (twice) last season and can play their part in another open contest.
"over" 2.75 goals 2.25 asian line/Sportmarket
from Clubgowi newsletter
