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Monaco vs Aston Villa match preview
Out of form domestically and in the Champions League, Monaco are three points from the automatic round of 16 and elimination places as Adi Hutter’s side seek to avoid three straight losses in Europe at home to Aston Villa on Tuesday (5.45pm GMT).
Following a 2-1 defeat at Montpellier on Friday that has left them winless in four matches in 2025, Hutter denied that his players had been distracted by the prospect of facing the 1981/82 European champions on the penultimate matchday.
“I have a lot of respect for Montpellier but we needed to impose ourselves to regain confidence,” the Austrian said after his side spurned a lead at the bottom side in Ligue 1, gifting Musa Al-Taamari the equaliser.
“Tuesday will be a completely different match: it’s the Champions League at home, but I don’t think the team already had Aston Villa in mind.
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“We were dominant in the first half. We were the better team. And after the [equaliser] and the way we conceded it, I started to see bad body language… we [then] only managed to be dangerous in the last minutes.”
Villa are eighth in the Premier League after a contrasting tale on Saturday, recovering from 2-0 behind after 59 minutes at title hopefuls Arsenal to secure a 2-2 draw courtesy of two goals inside nine minutes from Ollie Watkins and Youri Tielemans.
They are within the Champions League automatic progression places by a point, helped by Ross Barkley’s 85th-minute winner in a 3-2 win at Leipzig on December 10.
“Arsenal were the better team, but Villa came back and played out a draw,” said Hutter, observing that counterpart Unai Emery has won the Europa League three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal.
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“[Emiliano] Martinez is an unbelievable goalkeeper. [Morgan] Rogers is a fantastic number 10, [with Jhon] Duran and Watkins as the strikers.
“Tielemans is the pacemaker in the centre of midfield. We also have to be very careful with every goal in this league phase. Every goal can be decisive.”
Monaco vs Villa team news
Folarin Balogun is a long-term absentee for Monaco following shoulder surgery, while fellow forward George Ilenikhena is out with a muscular problem.
Winger Krepin Diatta is not fit, and defender Thilo Kehrer – who scored against Montpelier – will be suspended if he is booked.
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“If we drop our intensity, the coach will absolutely murder us,” said striker Breel Embolo, via Birmingham Live. “Teams are showing us more respect and opponents are defending more tightly. We have to adapt ourselves.
“We are still the same team we were three months ago. We have the same coach and players. It’s a chance to put things right.”
Midfielders Amadou Onana and John McGinn are doubts for Villa, who are without defenders Diego Carlos (suspension) and Pau Torres (ankle), as well as playmaker Barkley because of a calf injury.
Duran, who was reportedly the subject of a £57 million bid from West Ham on Monday, will be suspended for the visit of Celtic on January 29 (8pm) if the forward is booked.
New signing Donyell Malen cannot be registered for the Champions League until the knockout stage.
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Monaco vs Aston Villa expected line-ups
Monaco: Majecki; Caio Henrique, Kehrer, Singo, Vanderson; Camara, Zakaria; Ben Seghir, Golovin, Akliouche; Embolo
Aston Villa: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Kamara, Onana; Bailey, Tielemans, Ramsey; Watkins
How to watch Monaco vs Villa: TV channel, live stream
Kick-off is at 17:45 UK time, with live coverage on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate commencing at 17:00.
The stats
- In 12 of the last 14 Monaco home matches in the Champions League, the sum of goals was over 2.5
- In 7 of the last 9 Monaco matches the sum of goals was over 2.5
- In 5 of the last 6 Monaco matches in the Champions League, the sum of goals was over 2.5
- In 3 of the last 4 Monaco home matches the sum of goals was over 4.5
- In 3 of the last 4 Monaco home matches the sum of goals was over 3.5
- In 11 of the last 13 Aston Villa away matches the sum of goals was over 2.5
- Aston Villa have lost 6 of the last 7 away matches while scoring less than 1.5 goals
- In 7 of the last 8 Aston Villa matches the sum of goals was over 2.5
- Aston Villa have lost 5 of the last 6 away matches and the sum of goals was under 3.5
- In 5 of the last 6 Aston Villa away matches the sum of goals was under 3.5
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Prediction
At the sharp end of the league phase, victory for either side could be hugely important to their ambitions of progressing automatically by finishing as one of the top eight teams in the new 36-team single-table format.
Much could depend on whether Monaco can rediscover the form they found at the start of the campaign, taking 10 points from a possible 12 and beating Barcelona and Crvena zvezda at home.
Hutter’s side were briefly top in France as part of an eight-game unbeaten start in Ligue 1, but they have lost five and drawn two of 10 league matches since then, as well as suffering successive European defeats at home to Benfica and at Arsenal.
On their first campaign in the modern Champions League, Villa’s only defeat came away, losing at Club Brugge, while their defensive record is the fourth-best in this season’s competition.
By contrast, only three teams in the top 23 have let in more goals than the 10 conceded by Monaco, who lost 4-2 to Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 in their only home game since December 7.
The 2003/04 finalists will not want to visit Inter on the final matchday in an uncomfortably close position to the bottom eight elimination positions, and they have a useful record against English opponents, winning 11 and drawing six of their 21 meetings.
Villa have won three times and twice drawn 2-2 in their last five games. Expect them to repeat the defensive rigour they have shown in Europe this season in a 1-1 draw.
