Monaco vs. Nantes: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview
AS Monaco will be looking to hold off the challenge from Lille and Saint Etienne in the race for Ligue 1's second UEFA Champions League ticket when the team hosts FC Nantes on Sunday.
With league-leaders Paris Saint-Germain no longer within striking distance, Les Rouges et Blancs must now turn their attention to preserving their six-point lead over Lille and secure Champions League football in their first season back in France's top division.
Nantes have all but ensured the club will be playing in Ligue 1 again next season, currently sitting eight points above the relegation zone with just seven matches left. With no pressure left on the players, the trip to Monaco could provide the club with an excellent opportunity to pull off an upset over the favoured hosts.
Date: Sunday, April 6
Time: 8. p.m. BST/3. p.m. EST
Venue: Stade Louis II
TV info and live stream: The match will be broadcast on BT Sport 2 and BT Sport 2 HD, with mobile coverage available via the BT Sport app and online player.
Monaco's shocking loss to Evian Thonon Gaillard has all but ended the team's bid for the French title, as the difference between the club and PSG is now 13 points, a seemingly insurmountable lead for Les Bleus.
The hosts have taken just one out of a possible six points in their last two matches and need to turn things around in a hurry to guarantee a second-place finish to the season.
Coach Claudio Ranieri has moved away from playing with a second striker in recent weeks and the team has suffered for it, so Dimitar Berbatov and Valere Germain are expected to be starting together once again.
Nantes have drawn three of their last four matches and took full advantage of a double dismissal in the win against Montpellier, and the results against Lille and Bordeaux (both draws) will give the team confidence they can produce something similar against Les Rouges et Blancs.
Monaco have relied heavily on possession this season and the loss of playmaker Joao Moutinho has resulted in less decisive passing in the attacking third, making it harder to break down well-organised squads.
Playing organised defense happens to be what Nantes do best, as evidenced by their game against Bordeaux last week, where they only held the ball 40 percent of the match, via WhoScored.com yet hardly gave away any chances to a very strong attacking team.
As shared by Goal's Mohammed Ali, the month of March wasn't particularly kind to the hosts, while Nantes remained right on schedule:
Monaco can't afford to drop any points to the smaller teams like Nantes and will need to rebound from their current run of form that saw the team perform well below expectations. With Lille and Saint Etienne right on the team's heels, Ranieri's men can't be satisfied with anything less than a win.
Prediction: AS Monaco 1-0 Nantes
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