AS Monaco vs PSG
What a few months it’s been for AS Monaco.
First, they upset the betting odds by embarking on a run to the Champions League semi-finals, dispatching the likes of Spurs and mega-rich Manchester City en-route.
Then they surprised many sports betting pundits by outsmarting another Sheikh bankrolled club, toppling the big spenders of the French league, Paris St Germain, to lift their first Lique 1 title in 17 years.
All the time this was going on, many of the side – with the already well known Radamel Falcao being the exception – became household names and some of the most coveted footballers in Europe.
That they did this with an operating budget a third the size of PSG adds further weight to the achievement, as Leonardo Jardim redesigned his team into one of the most exciting on the continent.
Problem now is sustaining it after another summer of change in the millionaires’ paradise that is Monaco.
This weekend’s Super Cup – the French league champions against the Cope de France winners – proves the first real test.
For while the capital club have retained all their stars and even brought in veteran full-back Dani Alves from Juventus, Monaco – once thought to be another club capable of lavish spending – have said farewell to many of their stars.
Among them, Tiemoue Bakayoko has moved to English champions Chelsea, while Benjamin Mendy and the influential Bernardo Silva have moved to join the Qatari-funded Pep Guardiola revolution at City.
They may have retained the club captain Falcao, Thomas Lemar and the mercurial Kylian Mbappe (for now at least) but it leaves the club from the principality stripped of the majority of its stars from last season.
The Grand Stade de Tanger will provide the first real glimpse of whether Monaco can reproduce another special season or whether PSG will return to what they’ve considered in recent years as the normal pecking order.
Who’s your money on?
For the latest sports update, promotions and betting picks with SBOBET get social with our official Twitter, Google+, YouTube and Facebook accounts. Visit SBOBET and join us now. Start placing your bets today!
Click for more football betting options.
