Monaco will attempt to put their Ligue 1 worries behind and enjoy a triumphant return to the Champions League after a nine-year exile. Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen will fancy their chances of pouring more misery on the Principality club, even if they have to be wary of former player Dimitar Berbatov.

More worries for Monaco

Monaco chiefs were tipped for another summer of heavy spending after the team secured a second-place finish in Ligue 1 and Champions League qualification, but while the club only signed several unproven players, they stayed without key footballers Falcao, James, Obbadi, Riviere and Abidal. As a result, the team are clearly weaker than last term while the hype surrounding world-class talent like Falcao and James is no longer present at Stade Louis II. Other key members of the squad such as Joao Moutinho are believed to be pondering exit as well, so nobody was surprised by Monaco’s poor run of form at the start of the new season. Leonardo Jardim’s charges did show some improvement after the opening defeats to Lorient and Bordeaux, but the weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Lyon will act as a new blow to the players’ confidence. It is still too early in the season for the players to be feeling ill-effects of playing too many games in a short period of time, but the lack of quality replacements is bound to prove an issue for the club some time this season. And while the likes of Moutinho, Toulalan and Kondogbia form a very good midfield department, the lack of quality up front could be a major problem against Leverkusen.

Aymen Abdennour, Borja Lopez and Lacina Traore remain on the sidelines, but Fabinho should be recalled to the starting line-up.

Leverkusen unlucky to end the winning run

It’s been several years now that Bayer Leverkusen have played an important role in German Bundesliga, even if they haven’t quite managed to prove their worth in Europe. However, some shrewd transfer dealings in the summer allowed die Werkself to close the gap behind Europe’s top sides and the team have played some excellent football under new boss Roger Schmidt. New signings Hakan Calhanoglu and Tin Jedvaj are already considered first team regulars, while Karim Bellarabi has largely impressed since returning from a loan spell with Eintracht Braunschweig. As a result, Leverkusen eased off to Champions League group stages, while beating Borussia Dortmund on the road and Hertha at home to climb to the top of Bundesliga standings. Die Werkself couldn’t keep the 100% record intact as they conceded a late goal to Werder and had to settle for a 3-3 draw, but the very good performance in that match is enough to suggest their form hasn’t dipped. And with the team now desperate to impress in Europe, Leverkusen look a good bet to see off out-of-sorts Monaco.

Key midfielder Lars Bender has returned into action, but Simon Rolfes and Julian Brandt continue to miss out through injury.

Verdict

Monaco have struggled to cope with some important departures and they appear to be very low on confidence at the moment. Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen already seem to be on top of their game and I can see them winning at Stade Louis II.

Top pick: Away win   2.25 (5/4) @ Stan James

Alternative pick 1: Over 2.5 goals   2.00 (1/1) @ bet365

Alternative pick 2: Both teams to score   1.80 (4/5) @ Betfair