Bayer Leverkusen vs Monaco prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2023-02-15 20:00.
The return of the UEFA Europa League (UEL) sees two sides meet that were eliminated in the last 16 stage last term, as Bayer Leverkusen host Monaco at the BayArena. Die Werkself head into this play-off after being knocked out of the Champions League, although they incredibly only reached this stage through a superior H2H record against Atlético Madrid by virtue of a 99th minute penalty miss in the Spanish capital!
A win in this first leg appears crucial to Leverkusenâs chances of progression considering theyâve never won an away H2H at Monaco (D1, L2). However taking a first-leg advantage to Monaco next week certainly isnât a guarantee given Leverkusen are bidding to win a home European knockout game for the first time since August 2020 (L2), with both of those defeats coming âto nilâ. Encouragingly, form on their own turf has been good of late, with Borussia Dortmund the only visiting side to win at the BayArena since October (W3, D2).
Theyâll face one of Europeâs most in-form sides here, with Monaco one of just ten sides across Europeâs top five divisions yet to lose a league game since their respective seasonâs restart (W6, D2). Their latest success was a thumping 3-1 win over defending French champions PSG which propelled the Principality club into Ligue 1âs top-three, so theyâre bound to be full of confidence as their attention switches back to Europe.
Les MonĂ©gasques are unbeaten on the road since October in all competitions too (W3, D3), although theyâve managed just two victories in their last seven road trips in the UEL (D3, L2), a record theyâll be keen to improve upon here. Achieving that may rely on one of the most potent attacks around, as Monaco have netted 22 goals in their last eight league games!
Players to watch: Flying full-back Jeremie Frimpong has been a bright spark in an otherwise difficult season for Leverkusen, directly contributing to 11 goals so far this term (G5, A6). He canât match the goalscoring exploits of Monacoâs Wissam Ben Yedder though, with his 19 goals in all competitions this season arriving at a rate of one every 95.8 minutes.
Hot stat: Monaco are fast starters on the road, scoring the opening goal in nine of their 11 Ligue 1 away games this season, as they also did in two of their three UEL away group games.