PSG host Monaco in what is one of Ligue 1’s marquee matches, yet the expectation is that this will be a one-sided affair in favour of the red-hot home team.
Christophe Galtier’s side have looked irresistible so far this season, yet on Sunday night at Parc des Princes, they will face what is expected to be their sternest challenge to date. Monaco will have to raise their game after a 4-1 loss at home to Lens if they are to be competitive, though.
Here’s what to expect from the eye-catching fixture.
PSG v Monaco Bet Builder Tips
Kylian Mbappe to Score Anytime
Monaco may be Kylian Mbappe’s formative club, but don’t expect him to go easy on them. He certainly hasn’t in the past. In 11 previous meetings against Monaco with PSG, Mbappe has found the net on 10 occasions, including a double in the home encounter last season and a hat-trick in a 3-1 home victory in 2019. Meanwhile, he has started this term in scoring form.
After netting against Montpellier in his first match of the season after missing the opening with a slight injury, he netted a brilliant treble against Lille last weekend and linked up brilliantly with Lionel Messi and Neymar, despite paper talk that the relationship between him and the Brazilian is questionable.
On top of this, head coach Christophe Galtier has underlined that he remains PSG’s primary penalty taker.
Given the ego surrounding PSG’s attacking stars, they are unlikely to be withdrawn unnecessarily if they have not found the net, even in a game week like this, in which they will play three times in six days.
Mbappe, then, will be given every opportunity to add to his haul of goals against his former side.
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Prediction: Kylian Mbappe to Score Anytime
Neymar Anytime Assist
Having been subject to so much media speculation in the summer, Neymar has silenced his critics with a brilliant start to the season in which he has scored five times and created six more goals in three games to date. The Brazilian has a reputation of starting the season slowly and growing in power, but he is playing at full capacity already.
Indeed, he has two hat-tricks of assists, one against Clermont and another against Lille. Huge amounts of PSG’s play is flowing through him. While Lionel Messi is the man building the play, the Argentine has often been playing the penultimate pass, with Neymar grabbing the assist.
In addition to his excellent play in the open game, Neymar is also the man who delivers the majority of the corners and free kicks around the box, providing him with additional opportunities to get an assist. Indeed, PSG’s only credited assist from a set-piece situation this season came from his free kick against Clermont, with Marquinhos scoring.
Given that Neymar is longer priced than both Lionel Messi and Mbappe in this market, there is value here.
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Prediction: Neymar to Assist
Monaco to Receive the Most Cards
Monaco are likely to spend a good deal of their time in this match on the back foot, raising the prospect of them committing fouls and picking up yellow cards as a result. Indeed, the direct and dribbling style of PSG forwards Neymar, Messi and Mbappe invites the type of fouls that result in cautions.
The visiting side are averaging a little over two cards per game and showed some frustration last weekend when they picked up four when they found themselves outplayed by Lens at home. Having started to fray under that pressure, a similar test is expected in the capital.
PSG, meanwhile, have only seen four bookings in Ligue 1 this season, two of which have been picked up by midfielder Vitinha, who is suspended for this match. Only Troyes and Lorient have had fewer cautions.
As long as PSG boss this match, as they are expected to do, they should have few major discipline issues, particularly with Marco Verratti being withdrawn early in the three games that they have played this term.
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Prediction: Monaco to Receive the Most Cards
PSG -1 Handicap
PSG should have few problems winning this game given the electric form that they are in. Through three matches of the season, they have scored an incredible 17 goals and have looked sensational offensively. No-one has yet got close to them.
On the face of it, it’s going to take a strong defensive performance to even test them, and it does not appear that Monaco have got that in them. Certainly, on the evidence of last weekend’s 4-1 home thumping by Lens, they are in trouble. In that game, they could have conceded even more. Indeed, through five matches of the season, Philippe Clement’s side have yet to keep a cleansheet, with the pressure mounting on the coach after just one win in this time.
PSG’s front three look capable of tearing their opponents to pieces, too. Lionel Messi, Neymar and the forementioned Mbappe have started this season at the peak of their powers, sending a message not just to their rivals in France but also around the continent.
Blowout victories in this fixture have been relatively rare, but Monaco beat PSG 3-0 when the sides last met, and there is, therefore, reason for the home side to look to gain a measure of revenge with a big win of their own.
Look for PSG to try and rack up a big score early and make changes before the end.
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Prediction: PSG -1 Handicap
Written by an Andy verified content writer
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How to watch PSG v Monaco in Ligue 1
📅 When is PSG v Monaco? / Sunday, 28th August 2022, 19:45
🏟 Where is PSG v Monaco? / Parc des Princes (Paris)
📺 What TV channel is PSG v Monaco on? / BT Sports 2
🟨 …And who is the referee for PSG v Monaco? / B. Bastien 🇫🇷
