A spot in the last 16 of the Europa League will be on the line Thursday when Monaco host Bayer Leverkusen at Stade Louis II. Hi

In the opening leg last Thursday, Les Monegasques stormed back with two goals in the final 16 minutes plus stoppage time to win 3-2, so a victory or draw in this match will be enough to put them through to the next stage of this competition.

It rarely looks comfortable, but Monaco have shown plenty of character throughout 2023, and that propelled them to a massive triumph in Germany last week.

As a result, Philippe Clement’s men have the upper hand heading to the Principality, and they will fancy their chances of advancing, seeing as Monaco are unbeaten in their last 13 UEFA Cup/Europa League fixtures played on home soil.

While many of their matches domestically and in Europe this season have been unpredictable, it is a pretty safe bet that this group will find the back of the net, having done so in 33 consecutive Ligue 1 affairs, though they failed to score twice in the group stage of this competition.

The UEFA Europa League (UEL) knockout round play-offs served up some blockbuster encounters in the first-leg, none more so than the highest scoring affair of them all, which now sees Monaco bring a 3-2 aggregate lead back to the Stade Louis II as they look to close the show against Bayer Leverkusen.

Monaco will feel they’re firmly in the driver’s seat to do just that, and history would certainly back that up given they’ve successfully progressed from all 14 of their UEFA competition ties when winning the first-leg on the road!

Manager Philippe Clement will know simply avoiding defeat will get the job done here, something he’ll be confident in achieving considering his team are currently riding an eight-game unbeaten streak in all competitions (W6, D2). The Red and Whites can also lean upon an impressive record against Leverkusen, with just one defeat in seven previous encounters (W4, D2) surely boosting confidence that the last-16 awaits.

On the upside, the Eternal Bridesmaids have enjoyed some success on the road recently by winning three of their last four away matches (L1), although failing to keep a clean sheet in their last 11 such games will be a worry given they already start this game at an aggregate disadvantage.

Their record at this stage of major European competitions doesn’t make for pretty reading either, with seven of Leverkusen’s last ten continental trips to the knockout rounds ending at the first hurdle.

Players to watch: Monaco’s Wissam Ben Yedder has scored an impressive 13 of his last 16 club goals before half-time while teenage prodigy Florian Wirtz will be looking to make an impact after scoring in the first-leg, with that being only the second time Leverkusen have lost in his last 19 goalscoring appearances (W16, D1).

Hot stat: Monaco have seen a scoreless first-half in only two of their last 12 matches.

Monaco Europa League form:

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Monaco form (all competitions):

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Bayer Leverkusen Europa League form:

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Bayer Leverkusen form (all competitions):

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Monaco possible starting lineup:

Nubel; Matsima, Disasi, Sarr, Henrique; Diatta, Fofana, Camara, Golovin; Ben Seghir, Ben Yedder

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:

Hradecky; Frimpong, Tapsoda, Tah, Bakker; Andrich, Palacios; Adli, Wirtz, Amiri; Schick