Monaco and Bastia Face off in David vs Goliath Battle
Published February 17, 2017 by Florin P
Bastia braces for 90 minutes siege when leading Monaco comes visiting on Friday. (7:45 p.m UK Time).
Monaco has consolidated its lead at the top of the French first division, but its advantage over PSG is slim. With Nice fading in the standings, the race for the trophy will involve these two teams and the race is pretty intense. A victory over Bastia is vital, especially now when Monaco resumes its Champions League campaign. The hosts are struggling but they won’t go down without a fight.
10 Victories in 11 Matches for Monaco
The visitors are rightfully enthusiastic ahead of this fixture, as they won five games in a row and draw just once in the last 11 rounds. Their offensive is firing on all cylinders and several players routinely find their way to the net. Against Bastia they will need to play offensive football from the first minute because the home team will defend with all lines.
When it has home pitch advantage, Bastia turns into a fortress but this season the defensive strategy backfired more often than usually. They also have four players missing and three of them have defensive roles, so they are right to be concerned. Unlike the visitors who are riding a hot streak, they haven’t won a match in eight rounds. Most of the recent games were defeats, including a humiliating 0-7 against PSG.
A Tough Test for Monaco's Offensive
Bastia will not even try to press up front and instead will wholeheartedly embrace the role of underdog. They will try to score on counterattack if opportunity presents itself, but otherwise stick to the defensive tactic. Monaco players will need to play at the same level for 90 minutes and try to find a breach in their defense. As this promises to be a one-sided affair, bookmakers are correctly pricing Monaco as huge favorites. Bet365 offers odds of 3/5 on the visitors to win and it’s worth taking them at full stakes.
