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AS Monaco and Sturm Graz kick off the hunt for the UEFA Europa League crown when they lock horns at the Stade Louis II Stadium on Thursday.
The French side have endured a horrid start to their domestic campaign and will be looking to grab a morale-boosting win.
AS Monaco’s poor start to the new Ligue 1 campaign continued last Saturday when they fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Olympique Marseille.
Senegalese forward Ahmadou Bamba Dieng put in a headline-grabbing performance for Marseille as he scored in either half to hand them all three points.
AS Monaco have now managed just one win from their opening five league games and currently find themselves 16th in the Ligue 1 table.
The Monégasques, who were beaten in the final round of the Champions League qualifiers, will now aim to make up for their poor league start by picking up all three points.
Meanwhile, Sturm Graz returned to winning ways last time out when they saw off Austria Klagenfurt 2-1 on home turf.
After falling behind to Christopher Cvetko’s third-minutes opener, Jakob Jantscher restored parity in the 31st minute before Gregory Wuthrich completed the comeback with a dramatic 94th-minute winner.
Prior to that, Christian Ilzer’s men failed to taste victory in their games leading up to the win, playing out a 1-1 draw against Flyeralarm Admira and NK Bravo.
However, Sturm Graz head into the game unbeaten in their last 10 games across all competitions, picking up seven wins and three draws.
AS Monaco vs Sturm Graz Head-To-Head
This will be the first meeting between the two sides and they will both be looking to begin their rivalry on a good note.
Monaco Form Guide (all competitions): L-L-D-W-L
Sturm Graz Form Guide (all competitions): W-W-W-W-D
AS Monaco vs Sturm Graz Team News
Monaco
The French side will have to cope without midfielder Aleksandr Golovin and defender Djibril Sidibe, who are both presently injured.
Injured: Aleksandr Golovin, Djibril Sidibe
Suspended: None
Sturm Graz
The visitors will take to the pitch without Vincent Trummer, Sandro Ingolitsch and Francisco Mwepu, who have all been ruled out through injuries.
Injured: Vincent Trummer, Sandro Ingolitsch, Francisco Mwepu
Suspended: None
AS Monaco vs Sturm Graz Predicted XI
Monaco predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Alexander Nubel, Ruben Aguilar, Guillermo Maripan, Benoit Badiashile, Caio Henrique; Youssouf Fofana, Aurelien Tchouameni; Gelson Martins, Jean Lucas, Sofiane Diop; Wissam Ben Yedder
Sturm Graz Predicted XI (4-3-3): Jorg Siebenhandl; Amadou Dante, Gregory Wuthrich, David Affengruber, Jusuf Gazibegovic; Jon Gorenc-Stankovic, Otar Kiteishvili, Stefan Hierlander; Ivan Ljubic, Jakob Jantscher, Kelvin Yeboah
AS Monaco vs Sturm Graz Prediction
Monaco will be looking to make up for their domestic woes by kicking off their European campaign on a winning note. However, they face the stern test of going up against a rampant Sturm Graz side who are unbeaten in their last 10 games.
We predict Monaco will grab all three points as they rely on home advantage to get them over the line.
Prediction: AS Monaco 2-1 Sturm Graz
