Who could have predicted that the first leg of this tie would play out in such dramatic fashion?
At the Stade Louis II last Tuesday, the hosts caught Paris off guard by opening the scoring in the very first minute of the match, before doubling their lead just under 20 minutes later. Then, when Vitinha saw his penalty get pushed away by Monaco keeper Philipp Köhn almost immediately afterwards, everything seemed to suggest that it wasn't going to be the capital club's night.
Once again, though, Luis Enrique's men found the resources required to get back into the game through goals from Désiré Doué a little before the half-hour mark and Achraf Hakimi shortly before the break. In the second half, Les Rouge et Bleu made the most of Aleksandr Golovin's sending-off to assert their dominance and to score their third goal of the night, again through Doué. Ahead of the second leg at the Parc des Princes, then, it's Les Parisiens who have the upper hand and Les Monégasques who will be out for revenge.
1 – AS Monaco's defeat in the first leg of this tie was the principality club's first-ever loss in a European game in which they had led by two goals. In fact, Les Monégasques were on a 39-match winning streak in European encounters in which they had established a two-goal lead, dating back to a 2-2 draw with Feyenoord in April 1992.
5 – Les Parisiens have won five of their last seven meetings with ASM across all competitions, with just one draw and one loss otherwise.
6 – Désiré Doué has scored six goals in his last six UEFA Champions League appearances for Paris, while Monaco striker Folarin Balogun has netted five goals in his last six games in the competition.
Although Sébastien Pocognoli's starting XI tomorrow night should resemble the team that he put out last week, doubts remain over certain positions. In goal, Philipp Köhn will continue to stand in for the absent Lukas Hrádecký, but at centre-back, Thilo Kehrer is expected to return and to feature from kick-off at the Parc. Alongside the Germany international, Jordan Teze and Wout Faes may well re-appear in order to form a three-man central defence for the visitors.
Meanwhile, Brazil's Vanderson will probably be the one to start at right-back once again, with Krépin Diatta having been forced to make an early exit from his side's league game against Lens last weekend. On the opposite flank, there are also no changes on the horizon as Caio Henrique continues to fit the bill.
In midfield, it remains to be seen who will replace the suspended Aleksandr Golovin. Mamadou Coulibaly could come in to support Denis Zakaria and Lamine Camara, while it's also possible that Maghnes Akliouche will move from the right wing into a more central position. Having not travelled to Lens with his teammates last Saturday, though, the France international remains doubtful for tomorrow night's match.
Having recently made his return to the Monaco squad, Ansu Fati represents an extra option for the ASM coaching staff, but his presence will depend on which system Pocognoli opts for in order to make up his side's aggregate deficit. As for Côte d'Ivoire's Simon Adingra and the aforementioned American centre-forward Folarin Balogun, both players are expected to start in attack for the principality club once more.
