PREVIEW: Monaco host Champions League holders PSG in an all-French playoff tie | OneFootball

Champions League holders PSG face fellow French side Monaco in the first leg of their playoff match after slipping out of automatic qualification to the round of 16 in the final round of league games.

The Parisian side will be desperate to hold onto their crown after years of being the nearly-men, while Monaco seek a spark to breath some life into their current season and push on for another spot in Europe next season.

The hosts Monaco are currently eighth in Ligue 1, a far cry from the side that achieved three third-place finishes in the last four seasons.

The 2017 season’s champions made it four league games last time out after a brace from new singing Simon Adingra helped the side to a 3-1 victory over Nantes.

Not only that, they managed to get the better of their opponents tonight when the sides met last in November, winning by a goal to nil.

In the Champions League, Monaco ended the group round in 21st placed after a goalless draw away at Juventus snuck the side into the play-off spots, having to rely on results from elsewhere with with just two victories from eight.

Monaco’s goalkeeper Lucas Hradecky and former Liverpool midfielder Takumi Minamino are both still out with ankle issues and won’t feature for the side.

Defender Mohammed Salisu is also expected to be out and Paul Pogba is still missing as his fitness struggles continue.

English defender Eric Dier is also out, which is a blow after his positive impact in the earlier stages of the competition.

Their opponents didn’t have the same luck in the final gameweek of the group stage, lending outside the top eight after a defeat to Sporting Lisbon and a draw to Newcastle ended their hopes of automatic qualification.

Luis Enrique’s side are facing a challenging season after winning an unprecedented sextuple last season, now deep into a close-run title race with Lens one point ahead of them after 22 league matches.

In the final of the Champions League last season, PSG beat Inter Milan 5-1 to secure their first ever Champions League, but now face a battle to make it to the knockout rounds.

From being the best team in the world last season to one struggling to build on their success, PSG’s draw with Newcastle summed up their European adventures: blistering for the first 15 minutes, where they could have carved out a demanding lead, only to sit back and eventually come out lucky to not lose the game.

PSG have a much lighter injury list compared to Monaco, as only midfield star Fabian Ruiz is missing from a knee injury which has seen the Spaniard miss the last six games.