Leverkusen – AS Monaco

Leverkusen will not be able to win the first leg of their duel with Monaco

The Franco-German pairing will be one of this week's central rivalries, not only in the Champions League but also in the Europa League. Bayer began this season in Europe's elite tournament, competing in the group with Porto, Brugge and Atletico Madrid. At the same time, trying to make up for the Bundesliga failure, the Pharmacists managed to finish third in the quartet. The club from the Spanish capital, strange as it may seem, was ahead of them. Monaco have also been involved in European Cup battles in the Champions League, but failed to overcome the first round of qualification, where PSV were the "wall" for them. In the Europa League group stage, the Monegasques find themselves in the company of Ferencvaros, Trabzonspor and Crvena Zvezda. After six games in the group stage, the team have picked up ten points and are only trailing the Hungarian champion. Before the match in Leverkusen, bookmakers offered equal odds on a win for the home side and a non-win for the visitors. This season is shaping up to be very difficult for Bayer. In the Bundesliga, the team got off to almost the worst start, and they only started to climb out of an unsightly position in November last year. At the same time, the Pharmacists' stability has been sporadic so far. For example, over the past three weeks Bayer managed to beat Bochum and Hoffenheim, and lost to Augsburg and Borussia Dortmund without scoring a single goal. Monaco were pretty much feverish last year, when the team were episodically near the midpoint of the standings. The real transformation with the Monegasques came after the break associated with the World Cup in Qatar. Since December, Monaco have taken part in eight Ligue 1 rounds, winning six times and sharing points with their opponents twice. In doing so, the team made a push for third place in the championship. Before the trip to Leverkusen, the Monegasques hosted PSG and quite easily dealt with the French champion - 3-1. In the upcoming duel, bookmakers see Bayer with an easy advantage in the chances of reaching the 1/8 finals. That said, Monaco look more stable than the German club. In addition, its players will be more confident after their triumph in the domestic league. The visitors will not lose the first leg of the two-match duel.