AS Monaco have won four of their last five matches in Ligue 1, including a 3-1 victory over league leaders Paris Saint-Germain at the weekend. “They are very solid, play with control and have a lot of players with quality and experience,” said head coach Xabi Alonso at Wednesday’s press conference. “But we’re in good shape and have good energy. It will be important for us to carry on working for each other.”
A positive result tomorrow would provide the basis to progress to the Round of 16. Alonso: “It’s a big game for us, we want to stay in Europe and give our fans more European nights at the BayArena.”
Volland return and floodlight atmosphere at the BayArena
The longstanding Bayer 04 player Kevin Volland is in the AS Monaco squad. The 30-year-old played up front for the Werkself for four years before moving on to Ligue 1 in 2020. Edmond Tapsoba played alongside Volland in his first six months in Leverkusen and is looking forward to a reunion with his former teammate: “Kevin is a great bloke and a very good striker.” Monaco forward Krépin Diatta knows Tapsoba from Africa Cup games between Burkina Faso and Diatta’s Senegal.
Alonso on competition: "EVErYBODY has to show what they can do"
Since last season, the away goals rule no longer applies in UEFA competitions. “We don’t want to go to Monaco next week and have to produce a miracle but instead set ourselves up for the second leg at home tomorrow,” said Alonso.
Patrik Schick should be in a position to help. The Leverkusen striker is back in the Werkself matchday squad for the AS Monaco game for the first time since the start of November. “Patrik is feeling much better and he will be in the quad tomorrow, ” said Alonso. “But, of course, we need to be patient after this long break. We’ll decide his minutes according to the course of the game.”
That means only Charles Aránguiz is unavailable due to injury. “The fact we have nearly all the players available is very good for competition, ” said Alonso. “Every player has to show what they can do and that they want to play.” Karim Bellarabi missed the final pre-match training session on Wednesday for private reasons and he could play against Monaco.
early arrival recommended
Around 27,000 tickets have already been sold for the Europa League match at the BayArena including 450 to the visitors from Monaco. Tickets are available form the Bayer 04 online ticket shop.
Bayer 04 ask everybody to arrive at the BayArena in good time to allow fans to get to their seats in time for kick-off and to avoid long queues at the turnstiles.
