Champions League: AS Monaco Badly Need the New Manager Bounce

AS Monaco vs Tottenham Hotspur

AS Monaco plan to return to winning ways when they host Tottenham at Stade Louis II this Wednesday evening in the third matchday of the 2025-26 Champions League campaign, and this will be Les Monegasques’ first European game under head coach Sebastien Pocognoli.

Before Pocognoli took the job, AS Monaco fired Adi Hutter after a poor run of results. Les Monegasques drew 1-1 against Angers in their first Ligue 1 match under Pocognoli last Sunday after conceding a late equaliser. In the Champions League this season, AS Monaco lost 4-1 to Club Brugge and drew 2-2 against Manchester City.

Meanwhile, Tottenham won 1-0 against Villarreal and drew 2-2 against Bodo/Glimt in the first two matchdays. Thomas Frank’s men are fresh from a 2-1 Premier League defeat against Aston Villa last weekend.

This is one of the top draws this week, and SBOTOP has you covered with today’s match preview.

 

Talking Points

AS Monaco will experience more growing pains

AS Monaco are adapting to life under new management, following the sacking of Adi Hutter over the international break. As mentioned, the club replaced Hutter with Sebastien Pocognoli, who was a Belgian top-flight winner with Union Saint-Gilloise. Pocognoli couldn’t get a win last time out against Angers, and he must solve AS Monaco’s defensive woes. Les Monegasques are still waiting for their first clean sheet of the season ahead of the Spurs’ visit.

It doesn’t help Pocognoli that he’ll continue to miss a handful of players this week due to injuries. Ex-Tottenham centre-back Eric Dier recently sustained a hamstring problem and is anticipated to be out for a few weeks. Dier will join the team’s packed medical room alongside Lukas Hradecky (knee), Christian Mawissa (hamstring), Vanderson (hamstring), Denis Zakaria (adductor), and Lamine Camara (ankle),

Moreover, AS Monaco have been clamouring for Paul Pogba’s return on the pitch, following a doping ban, but a fitness setback delayed those plans for the former Juventus midfielder.

AS Monaco have a decent attack with Ansu Fati, Folarin Balogun, and Mika Biereth leading the way. Balogun scored the team’s lone goal against Angers, while Fati bagged a brace against Nice earlier this month.

 

Tottenham have an injury dilemma

The Spurs were beaten by Aston Villa last time out, as they were missing a handful of key defenders. Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero were both ruled out before kick-off after the two sustained knocks during the warm-ups. Tottenham fans remain in the dark about both players’ availability for Wednesday.

This means more playing time for Kevin Danso, who will likely join Micky van de Ven at centre half. Speaking of van de Ven, he has to be careful against Les Monegasques, as picking up another yellow card would mean a Champions League match ban.

Mathys Tel (calf), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), James Maddison (knee), Yves Bissouma (ankle), Radu Dragusin (knee), Kota Takai (foot), Ben Davies (muscle), and Dominic Solanke (ankle) are also unavailable for Wednesday.

 

History

Wednesday marks the fifth European meeting between AS Monaco and Tottenham. Les Monegasques have the slight edge in the overall head-to-heads with two wins, while the Spurs have one win and one draw. 

These two teams last faced off in the 2016-17 Champions League group stage, where AS Monaco beat Tottenham twice with a 2-1 scoreline. As a result, the Ligue 1 outfit took the top spot in Group E with 11 points, while the Spurs were demoted to the Europa League after finishing third with seven points. AS Monaco eventually lost to Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals (6-3 aggregate), while Tottenham lost to Genk in the Europa League Round of 32 (3-2 aggregate).

​The Spurs are on a six-game unbeaten run in the Champions League phase/group stage matches, while only losing two of their last 12.

 

Betting Tip

The Champions League 2025 odds predict a close fight between AS Monaco and Tottenham. Because they’re in better shape recently, the Spurs have the slight edge at 2.38, whereas Les Monegasques aren’t far behind at 2.65, and a draw is on offer at 3.28.

Factoring in both sides’ defensive weaknesses and collective firepower in the final third, an exciting back-and-forth filled with Champions League 2025 highlights could be on the cards. Besides our recommended bet, bettors can also add Over 2.50 at 1.63, Over 2.75 at 1.83, and even Total Goal 4-6 at 2.73 to the parlay. Furthermore, a Correct Score of 2-1 in favour of AS Monaco – the result of their last encounter – could yield a robust payday of 10.00.

   

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