AS Monaco – Gornik Zabrze

The Monégasques won't be able to properly prepare themselves for their opponents.

This European campaign began for Górnik Zabrze as the Polish runners-up. Few of today’s football fans will remember that this club is one of the most decorated in its country. From 1961 to 1991, Górnik took part in European competitions more often than they were absent from continental tournaments. In 1970, the team even reached the Cup Winners’ Cup final. In the last couple of decades the club’s current foray into European competitions has been only the second such appearance. The previous foray in the 2018/2019 season was unsuccessful and ended in the second qualifying round of the Europa League. The current European season for Górnik Zabrze began in the Champions League qualifiers, where they managed to contest with Fenerbahçe, but could not overcome the opponent’s star players. In the Europa League, the Polish side faced Ferencváros, who were in good form. The Hungarians beat Górnik in their own stadium and left them with a draw on Polish soil. In the Conference League qualifiers, the Polish side again drew a tough opponent. Having drawn a TOP-5 European championship representative, the club from Zabrze hoped to build a lead on their home ground, but conceded as early as the ninth minute, derailing all their pre-match plans. The only thing the Polish side managed was to reduce the final score to a 2-3 defeat. Monaco is accustomed to participating in continental tournaments of a different caliber, but the end of the last Ligue 1 season could have left the Monégasques without European autumn. A victory in the away leg certainly increased Monaco’s chances of reaching the group stage of the Europa Conference League, but before the return match the Monégasques face a distraction. The thing is that just two full days after the match with Górnik at the Louis II Stadium, Monaco will have to host Marseille. But that’s not all yet... After the Provençals’ visit, Sébastien Pocognoli’s side will play matches against PSG, Strasbourg, and Lens over the next two weeks. Essentially, this means almost all the strongest Ligue 1 teams. This situation gives Górnik, not yet spoiled by European campaigns, a good chance to compete for at least scoring chances and a decent result at Louis II.