After thrashing Manchester City 4-1, Tottenham Hotspur will look to continue the form as they take on a struggling Monaco team in Europa League play.
Form
It has been a solid start for Tottenham this season. They currently sit 6th overall and right now qualify for the Europa League again. They just recently came off a big win against then table leaders Manchester City. After going into the half tied at 1 with City, Spurs blew out their opposition 3-0 in the second half to take the game. Although they got help from some questionable calls from the linesman, Spurs played a solid game and deserved the result.
Monaco's start to the season has been rocky as they sit 9th in the Ligue 1 table. Despite sitting in the top half of the table, Monaco is struggling against the top guns in France and in the Europe as well. They started off their new season with a loss in the playoff round to Valencia as Monaco could not overcome a poor first leg performance. Then they were smashed 3-0 by PSG and recently drew their opening game in the Europa League against Anderlecht. If there ever was a time for Monaco to turn it around, it has to be now.
Key Players
The player for Spurs has to be their main man, Harry Kane. He scored his first goal of the season against City and although he should have been called offside, he wasn't and as a result, was off the mark. Although it was a fairly easy goal to score, getting off the mark was something Kane needed to do. Spurs will be hoping that this gets the striker going will hope that he can break down a Monaco defense that gave up 3 goals to Guingamp in their last fixture.
For Monaco, their key player to look out for will be Stephan El Shaarawy. It feels as if he has been around forever but he is only 22 and is still growing as a player. He left AC Milan after injuries derailed a promising start to his career. Even though he has not scored for Monaco yet in Ligue 1, he has scored in the UCL playoff rounds and more importanty, he knows how to score. The Italian must be one of the main focuses for Tottenham's defense.
Team News
New signing Son Heung-min will miss the fixture for Spurs with a foot injury as he picked up the knock in their win against City. The new signing from Bayer Leverkusen has not exactly been great but it is still early and expect him to be in the squad when he becomes healthy.
Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev recently told a Russian newspaper that Anthony Martial could cost Manchester United up to 57.6M Euros. The young Frenchman has impressed ever since he arrived at Old Trafford and Monaco will be looking to cash in on the youngster.
What They're Saying
"We are happy to win but all these young players are going to be the death of me" said Monaco manager Leonardo Jardim after Monaco's narrow win over Corsica.
Monaco has a very young squad and growing mains are expected with this group.
"If we work hard and we do everything we have to do then we have the quality to make the difference.'' said defender Toby Alderweireld to Spurs TV after their win against City.
If Spurs can keep up their form, they can try and make another run at the Top 4 in the BPL.