Gianluigi Donnarumma may have just gained a vital edge in the PSG goalkeeping battle, with Keylor Navas producing a string of fine saves against Lens before letting Seko Fofana’s speculative effort slip through his grasp last weekend.
It took until the second minute of second-half injury time for PSG to restore parity thanks to Georginio Wijnaldum, but another stalemate once again raised questions about the tactical nous of Pochettino, whose side responded perfectly to such claims in midweek.
Indeed, braces from Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe saw PSG round off their Champions League Group A campaign with a romping 4-1 victory over Club Brugge, with the latter becoming the youngest player in Champions League history to hit 30 goals in the competition.
However, two consecutive stalemates in Ligue 1 have seen PSG’s lead at the top cut to 11 points over second-placed Rennes – while Marseille are 13 behind with a game in hand – but the league leaders welcome Monaco to their headquarters on an eight-game unbeaten streak in Ligue 1.
The 0-0 draw with Nice on December 1 did end a 10-game winning run at home in Ligue 1 for Les Parisiens, but a fatigued Monaco outfit are not exactly a force to be reckoned with on the road, continentally or domestically.
Monaco did not join PSG in midweek Champions League action following their early departure from Europe’s top table in the summer, but their first-placed position in Europa League Group B was already secured before their journey to Sturm Graz.
Niko Kovac understandably shuffled the pack for the contest, but Monaco would have still felt disappointed not to come away with all three points, as Kevin Volland cancelled out Jakob Jantscher’s penalty in a 1-1 stalemate.
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However, things finally appear to be heading in the right direction for Les Monegasques in Ligue 1, as they travel to the Parc des Princes on the back of consecutive wins over Angers and Metz – scoring seven goals and conceding just one in the process.
Now unbeaten in eight matches across all competitions, Monaco are slowly pulling themselves back into European contention as they sit seventh in the Ligue 1 table – just three points adrift of third-placed Marseille – but inconsistency has plagued them away from home.
Indeed, Kovac’s men have won just three of their eight Ligue 1 away matches so far this term, but they did do the double over PSG in Ligue 1 last term before going down 2-0 to Pochettino’s side in May’s Coupe de France final
