Champions League football is back for Tottenham Hotspur after a five year absence, with AS Monaco, Bayer Leverkusen 04 and CSKA Moscow travelling to London for group stage matches at Wembley.    

Here we will look at the first of those three teams - AS Monaco, as they prepare to become the first visitor to Tottenham’s Wembley for a European tie.

Recent history of fixture

Spurs took four points off of Monaco in the Europa League group stage last season, with the French team eventually crashing out of the group behind Belgian side Anderlecht.

Erik Lamela’s goal was not enough for Spurs to collect all three points from the Stade Louis II, with Stefan El Shaarawy netting a late equaliser for the hosts.

However, Lamela made sure his goals were enough to deliver the victory when The Red and Whites visited White Hart Lane, smashing home a hat-trick in a 4-1 win over an uninspiring Monaco, with El Shaarawy again scoring their goal.

European history

AS Monaco have a very respectable European calibre - they were Champions League finalists in 2003/04, losing to Jose Mourinho’s Porto in the final having defeated Chelsea in the semi-final and Real Madrid in the quarters.

The French side also reached two Champions League semi-finals in the 1990s, going down to AC Milan in 1994 and Juventus in 1998.

In their last Champions League campaign, in 2014/15, Monaco caused the shock of the round by knocking Arsenal out in the Round of 16 before being defeated by Juventus in the quarters.

How they qualified

Despite the convincing win, Spurs will not have it easy against a Monaco side who are much better than what they seemed over last season’s double header.

Leonardo Jardim’s side finished third in Ligue 1 last season behind Lyon on goal difference, which hurt somewhat more given that they were beaten 6-1 by Lyon on the penultimate day of the season.

This disappointment meant that Monaco, who now top the table four games into the new season having defeated champions PSG, had to qualify for Europe’s elite competition - and they did so convincingly, beating Spain’s Villarreal 3-1 on aggregate in the play-off round.

Ones to watch

Monaco have a squad littered with young talent, especially in midfield. Bernardo Silva and Tiemoue Bakayoko may be ones to watch in that area.

More experienced players include Kamil Glik, the Polish central defender signed from Torino in the summer is a danger in the opposition box and a presence defensively, and Radamel Falcao - the well-known former Chelsea and Manchester United striker who may start up front.

Support

Monaco are likely to bring less than 500 fans to Wembley. The club have only 400 season ticket holders, the lowest amount in the French top flight, and averaged 7,800 at home in their 18,500 seater stadium last season, only more than tiny Gazalec Ajaccio from the island of Corsica, who were relegated.

Predictions

3-1 Tottenham win at Wembley

1-1 draw at Stade Louis II