Clermont Foot 63 will pass a big test in Monaco – Clermont Foot
Eighth with 16 points thanks to their victory against Auxerre last weekend (2-1), the Clermontois move on the lawn of Monaco (Sunday, 5:05 p.m.) with the desire to surf on their current good momentum. But on the Rock, the challenge that awaits them promises to be met as long as the Monegasques have been able to raise the bar after a complicated start to the season.
“In the league, they remain on five wins in five games, analyzes Pascal Gastien. Their defeat at Trabzonspor in the Europa League was just a simple mistake despite a very good start. In my opinion, it hasn’t changed their dynamic. Monaco is one of the teams that dominates the championship today. We have already met three of these teams and it has not gone very well. We’ll see what happens this time around. »
The trip to the Principality last year did not leave only good memories in the ranks of Clermont Foot 63 (0-4). Hence the caution when approaching this complicated trip despite a good start to the championship. “We have 16 points after 10 days when we had 17 at the break last season, remembers the coach. It’s a good start to the championship. So far we are relatively consistent in what we have done. But, we know that it is fragile and that a negative series can call everything into question. We are moving to a big team and it will be a very complicated match. »
Especially since the CF63 is going to the Rock with a slimmed down group. If Johan Gastien will be suspended for this match, like last season, the Clermontois will also have to do without Mehdi Zeffane, Jérémie Bela and Brandon Baiye, injured. An uncertain time, Yohann Magnin and Neto Borges are finally part of the journey.
Clermont residents know what to expect
“We worked well all week to prepare for this match, emphasizes Saif-Eddine Khaoui. We saw that they lost to Trabzonspor and we know they will want to catch up. It will be a difficult match against a great team who will be keen to show a different face than Thursday. We will have to be flat out from start to finish to try to take as many points as possible and confirm our last good results. »
If Monaco will certainly have to do without Badiashile, injured in the warm-up on the lawn of Trabzonspor, Philippe Clément will be able to count on a group almost complete and which will succeed very well in the league in recent weeks. To the point of being back at the foot of the podium despite a delicate start.
“This year, I find us more solid collectively, continues the Tunisian international. It’s our second year in Ligue 1 and we therefore have a little more experience. We take the matches one after the other, and for the moment it works rather well. » And for the current good momentum to continue, the Clermontois know that they will have to deliver a big match. “It’s a team capable of punishing their opponents every time they make a mistake, concluded Pascal Gastien. I think they have a more vertical game this year than in the past. We know that against these players, we can’t afford to make any mistakes. »