Santa Claus is preparing the last presents, the smell of turkey is getting closer, but the ASM has one last fight to fight before moving on to a few days of vacation. PSG are autumn champions but, behind them, everything is changing. And Monaco must win in Toulouse to finish, for sure, the first leg on the podium. Beaten (1-0) by Lyon on Friday, following a match that it should have won, the Principality saw Lille and Brest come back to within two points of its third place.
Adi Hütter would find it unfair to be knocked out of the Top 3 down to the wire. “We plead guilty, squeaks the Austrian. We might have easily been second in the championship. We only deserve two of our four defeats this season, in Paris (5-2) and in Lille (2-0). Those conceded at home once morest Nice (1-0) and Lyon were hard to accept because we had the chances to score. We didn’t have the consistency we hoped for and that explains why we weren’t second. »
His team conceded too many goals at the start of the season, they are struggling to score any now. Against OL, they had seven or eight clear chances. Between 1re and the 8e day, ASM converted 43% of its shots on target into goals (21/49). Since the 9e, its success rate plunged (19%, 10/54). Hütter doesn’t like to see his boys mess up so much and he expects a start in Haute-Garonne, facing a disappointing TFC in L1 (15e) but attractive in the Europa League (qualified for the play-offs). “We want to show a reaction,” supports the coach.To become effective once more, Vanderson and Golovin will not be too much. The piston and the playmaker have served their suspension and their return will be beneficial. The Russian’s feet are magic wands from which two or three spells always spring. The fact remains that the Tsar cannot carry the attack on his shoulders alone.
Faced with the difficulties of the moment, his trainer came to the aid of Ben Yedder and Balogun. The two scorers are in the trough (1 goal in 7 outings for the Frenchman, 1 in 8 matches for the American), but the Austrian calls for leniency. “We always talk regarding them but they are not the only ones who can score. We are a team and others can do it. We must fight for everyone to show their best face. »
Singo and Zakaria, suspended, will not have this possibility, like Camara* injured in the ischios once morest Lyon. His absence might benefit Edan Diop, who hopes to experience a second start in L1, his first since April 30 once morest Montpellier (0-4 loss).
Another possibility, the replacement of Fofana as a sentry. The French international would play behind two torchbearers (Akliouche and Golovin) and a Balogun-Minamino duo up front. A sort of 3-1-4-2 that Hütter has tried to develop in recent weeks. The goal is to be less readable during the possession phase. “We will decide to take more risks or play with two sixes”evaded the technician who is scheduling a final training session this morning at La Turbie.
Behind, Magassa and Matsima are in the balance to replace Singo. The first offered more guarantees than the second this season. Comfortable on both feet, he might have a head start on Matsima. The latter, still learning, “had a hard time (hutters) » to understand his coach’s ideas at the start of the season.
The number
1.63: ASM’s points average over its last eight matches and since its victory once morest Metz on October 29 (2-1). The Monegasques compiled 13 points out of 24 in this period. They were at 2.13 points during the first eight days (17 points taken out of 24 possible).
