Anderlecht vs Monaco Betting Tips

Anderlecht have put together a good set of performances in early Belgian Pro League action after a strong 2014-15 campaign. They lost in the Round of 32 to Dynamo Moscow last season after finishing third in a Champions League group that included Arsenal.

Anderlecht are well set-up defensively, but there are some questions about their ability to put goals in the back of the net. They’re not the quite the same team as last year, but they will be competitive in a group that includes another North London team in Tottenham.

Monaco are undeniably a good football team, but something isn’t working early in 2015-16. They snapped a Ligue 1 funk at the weekend, but not in convincing fashion, beating goal-less Gazalec Ajaccio 1-0. They’re capable of controlling possession without scoring goals and that makes away games in Europa League action like Thursday’s match-up tricky.

The loss of Anthony Martial is obviously a big deal for this club, which has developed some good young players. Perhaps there’s still a learning curve for this squad to follow as a whole.

Three Reasons for Betting Tips

1. Where would goals come from?

With the way these two teams have played, where are the goals really likely to come from? We don’t see this playing out as a high-scoring contest.

2. Monaco put it together

They’ve dominated most of their matches this season without taking advantage. We do see this young side trending up over the course of the season and we think maybe they conquer an opponent that doesn’t have too much going forward here.

3. Cautious game

Neither team has scored many goals this season and neither team wants to lose this opener. That isn’t the recipe for a high-scoring game.