Monaco vs PSG Prediction: Stalemate expected at Stade Louis II

The final Ligue 1 match of 2024 delivers an exciting contest at the top of the table as leaders Paris Saint-Germain travel to face third-place AS Monaco at Stade Louis II on Wednesday (20:00). Luis Enrique's side had a good weekend as they defeated Lyon 3-1 while the rest of the top eight in the division dropped points.

They now have a seven-point cushion on Marseille in second and Wednesday's hosts. Monaco were made to settle for a goalless draw at Reims last time out and will feel they cannot afford the deficit to widen further here. Read on for my Monaco vs PSG prediction, accompanied by the latest team news and match odds.

Monaco vs PSG Odds

Monaco are 9/4 to win this encounter, which gives them an implied probability of 30.8%. This is because PSG are unbeaten in Ligue 1 so far this season but the hosts have won five of their eight matches at Stade Louis II this term.

PSG are 10/11 (52.4%) to take away the three points and they've won four of their seven away matches to date, including two of their last three. One of those was a convincing 3-0 win over Marseille, so they will not be fazed by who they are facing on Wednesday.

The draw can be backed at 11/4 (26.7%) which has landed in two of the visitors' last three outings in the top flight.

Football Odds

Team News

Monaco defender Jordan Teze will miss this crunch clash through suspension, having accumulated his third yellow card in the space of 10 matches. Boss Adi Hutter will welcome back Vanderson from a ban of his own, however, which should automatically fix that personnel problem.

Former Arsenal man Folarin Balogun, who has three goals in seven league appearances this term, is a doubt to feature after his reoccurring shoulder injury struck again last week. He was absent at the weekend so it looks unlikely he will be involved on Wednesday.

Swiss forward Breel Embolo was dropped to the bench at the weekend as Hutter went with a five-man backline. Seeing as it did not have the desired effect, we are expecting him to revert to a 4-2-3-1 against Les Parisiens as it has delivered them the most success.

Embolo will tussle with George Ilenikhena for the centre-forward role, but Aleksandr Golovin, Takumi Minamino and Maghnes Akliouche should return to their usual attacking roles for this one. Although, Eliesse Ben Seghir will also be in contention for one of these roles.

Golovin played a deeper midfield role last time out while Lamine Camara was limited to a cameo from the bench. I would expect the latter to come back into his natural position against PSG, allowing Golovin to return to the left flank.

For PSG, Desire Doue could keep his place in the front three after he impressed in the win against Lyon. He teed up the first goal before winning the penalty for the second.

Lucas Beraldo came into the defence for Marquinhos but the Brazilian is likely to have been rested for this contest, so we should see him return to the XI on Wednesday. Forward Randal Kolo Muani didn't make the squad at all, and there are rumours swirling he could be on his way out of Paris in the upcoming January transfer window.

Luis Enrique has no injury concerns heading into this clash which will be a big boost, while defender Presnel Kimpembe's continuing absence appears to be through choice by the Spanish coach.

Draw and both teams to score @ 100/30

This is a huge game for both sides, although there is more pressure on the hosts as PSG are seven points clear of them as things stand. Monaco will be disappointed that they allowed the gap to widen at the weekend so they will feel that they cannot afford to fall 10 points behind at this stage of the campaign.

Hutter made a mistake by changing the system at Reims so he will hope for his side to get back into their usual rhythm in the normal setup on home soil against Les Parisiens.

There is quite a big gap between the two sides' attacking output so far with PSG running riot with 40 goals already, while Monaco have managed just 24 themselves - and four of the teams beneath them in the table have managed more than them.

However, they have been very strong defensively as they boast the joint-best defensive record of 12 goals conceded, alongside PSG after the opening 15 games. This will be their biggest asset against the league leaders in this top-of-the-table clash.

Six of their tally have been conceded on home soil in just eight matches, while they have recorded shutouts on three occasions. I'm not expecting them to keep PSG's strong attacking cohort at bay, but they may be able to limit the amount of times they do find the back of the net.

It does feel like this could be a bit of a cagey affair, one you can often get in games with high stakes such as this. So I do feel as though a draw could be on the cards. I've boosted the odds with both teams to score because both teams have quality in attacking areas, particularly the visitors.

BTTS has struck in five of PSG's away games to date, while in four of Monaco's eight home clashes.

Under 2.5 goals @ 6/4

With two strong defences who have been excellent in the first few months of the campaign, you have another reason why this contest could be a very close encounter. Monaco have conceded just six goals at home, while PSG have only been breached on six occasions on their travels.

The backlines look like they are going to be the key decider of how this match plays out, so we could be in for a strategic chess match at Stade Louis II. With that in mind, I think there is value to be had in backing under 2.5 goals.

This has been a winning selection in five of Monaco's home games thus far. It hasn't been very common for PSG on the road, landing in three of their seven trips, but they are coming up against the toughest defence they'll face this season so far, and I can see this blunting their attacking pzazz.

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