Currently on a three match losing run, AS Monaco face Dijon hoping to arrest their slide.
With both teams coming off a loss in the midweek round of fixtures, they’ll be desperate for points in what will be a hotly contested clash.
Even though Dijon are bottom of the Ligue 1 table and in a relegation battle, they’ve definitely been improving under David Linares, for they’ve only lost two out of their last seven matches.
Monaco certainly won’t underestimate their opponents, as they know they’ll need to dig in and stick to their task if they are to get a much needed victory. This point comes into even sharper focus when considering Monaco’s rough away form, which has seen them lose five of seven matches on the road.
In his pre match press conference, Niko Kovac looked to put a positive spin on the situation. “It’s very disappointing for us to lose three games in a row. But the possibility is now here for us to show a whole different and improved side of our play Sunday against Dijon. Moreover, we shouldn’t throw away what happened before, we had four wins on the bounce before that. There is no need to be alarmed, it is not all black and white.”
Guillermo Maripan’s comments further backed up his manager’s upbeat stance, stating: “The team remains positive, we are aware of the current difficulties. We know what we have to do, we have to react collectively. We are aware of our qualities. AS Monaco are a good team, with a mix of experience and youth. We have great players, and we need to get better results.”
Seeing as Monaco have now dropped to ninth and are eight points off the Champions League spots, achieving a win is a must if they still harbour any intentions of qualifying for Europe’s elite club competition.