Barcelona start Champions League play in good form under new manager Hansi Flick, and they will get off to a good start against AS Monaco on Thursday. Flick has taken Barcelona back to the top of La Liga with an impressive 17 goals in just five games. Although Robert Lewandowski led the way with four goals, it was a team effort. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha patrol the wings and Dani Olmo was in the middle to set everyone up as this team attacks with ease.
Monaco have had a solid start to the Ligue 1 season thanks to strong defensive play, but they haven’t yet met a team that can attack like Barcelona, ​​so this will be a good test to see how far they can go come.
Here are our storylines, how to watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Thursday September 19 | Time: 3:00 PM ET
- Location: Stade Louis II — Monaco, France
- Live stream: Biggest+
- Chances: Monaco +320; Sign +300; Barcelona-135
Schedule of the competition phase
Monaco: Barcelona (u), Dinamo Zagreb (a), Crvena zvezda (u), Bologna (a), Benfica (u), Arsenal (a), Aston Villa (u), Inter (a)
Barcelona: Monaco (a), Young Boys (u), Bayern Munich (u), Crvena zvezda (a), Brest (u), Boussia Dortmund (a), Benfica (a), Atalanta (u)
Team news
Monaco: Only without Radoslaw Majecki and Edan Diop, it’s pretty close to good health for Monaco, but that doesn’t mean we’ll see American striker Folarin Balogun start the match. Balogun struggled to stay in the starting line-up to kick off the season due to Monaco’s deep attack and had to settle for coming off the bench. Since no goals have been scored in three matches played, he is also not pushing for inclusion in the XI, something that will have to change for him sooner or later, as Mauricio Pochettino, the United States coach, has limited playing time will keep an eye on it.
Possible Monaco XI: Philipp Kohn, Vanderson, Thilo Kehrer, Mohammed Salisu, Caio Henrique, Lamine Camara, Denis Zakaria, Maghnes Akliouche, Aleksander Golovin, Takumi Minamino, Breel Embolo
Barcelona: Without Olmo, it could be a new opportunity for Ferran Torres in the starting line-up. He was sent off in the 86th minute of Barcelona’s last match against Girona. He hasn’t started the season well, but depth is not strong for Flick’s men. With Raphinha able to slide into central positions when needed, Torres could move to the wing, which could be an opportunity to turn his season around. Fermin Lopez will also miss the match, which is worrying as he is competing in the European Championships and Olympics for Spain. Two summer tournaments can put quite a strain on a player’s legs.
Possible Barcelona XI: Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Alex Balde, Inigo Martinez, Pau Cubarsi, Jules Kounde, Pedri, Marc Casado, Ferran Torres, Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski
Prediction
Pay attention to goals early and often. Barcelona don’t like to defend and Monaco can counter well, but Barcelona’s attack will be too much to keep up with. Choose: Monaco2, Barcelona4
