Monaco vs Auxerre prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2023-01-31 20:00.
Monaco have been one of Ligue 1’s standout performers since action resumed in France’s top-flight last month. They’re one of just two sides in the division yet to taste defeat since the restart (W3, D2), although they’re likely to be left deflated by Saturday’s 1-1 draw away to Marseille as it was a result that maintained the five-point gap between them in fourth and their hosts in third.
Despite that missed opportunity, manager Philippe Clement claimed he was "proud and happy with the personality” of his players after maintaining their unbeaten run, and now he’ll be calling on them to keep the pressure on the top-three by continuing their thoroughly dominant record against the league’s struggling sides – Monaco have won nine of their ten matches against the current bottom half ahead of this round, scoring 2+ goals in all but one of those contests.
While the home side have found their groove following the break, it’s been the opposite for Auxerre who have lost each of their five fixtures since the restart, extending their winless Ligue 1 run to seven matches (D1, L6), and making this their longest such drought in top-flight history. Subsequently deep in the relegation zone, the lack of goals will be manager Christophe Pélissier’s biggest concern as they’re without one in 382 minutes of league action!
History isn’t on Auxerre’s side here given they have drawn a blank in four of their last six competitive meetings with Monaco, with each unsurprisingly failing to deliver a win (D2, L4). Yet having also conceded 2+ goals in four of those H2Hs, which included a meeting between these two sides at the end of December (L 3-2), there’ll be a fear their goals against record – which is the second-worst in the division ahead of the round (43) – could be about to get much worse.
Key battle: Eliesse Ben Seghir will be hoping for a repeat of December’s Ligue 1 debut against Auxerre when he scored his only two league goals for Monaco so far. Trying to stop him will be an ever-busy Birama TourĂ© who has made 38 interceptions – only three Ligue 1 players had made more ahead of the round.
Hot stat: No Ligue 1 side has trailed at half-time on fewer occasions than Monaco (two).