How will the free-scoring Monaco cope with Juventus’ stingy defence when they meet at 7.45pm on BT Sport 2?

Though they may have been overtaken by Barcelona in terms of goals scored in their respective domestic leagues, Monaco are still one of the most exhilarating sides on the continent this season and, unlike the Catalan colossus, are in the Champions League semi-finals.



Topping a group that contained Bayer Leverkusen and Tottenham, the French side then came back from the brink against Manchester City to win their last 16 battle on away goals. Their crowning triumph – so far at least – came in the quarter-finals, where they bested Borussia Dortmund 6-3 on aggregate.

Though their defence has sometimes left a lot to be desired, their forwards are electric. Radamel Falcao, who sits at a Super Mega PGM of 28-33, has found redemption after a few seasons shuffling about the Premier League, and has scored 28 goals in all competitions. Yet despite having a few fewer goals (his tally currently stands at 24), Monaco’s main story has been Kylian Mbappe, who sits at a Super Mega PGM of 26-31. The 18-year old has shone in his second ever first team season, and is set to be the most sought after player in the summer transfer window.

Monaco are going to need Falcao and Mbappe to be at their clinical best on Wednesday night if they want gain the upper hand. That’s because Juventus have conceded just twice in the Champions League this season. Even more impressive is the fact that those goals came in the group stages, with both Porto and Barcelona failing to score against the Italian champions during their knockout encounters.

Not that Juve are slouches up front. Gonzalo Higuain has 29 goals in total this season, and has a Super Mega PGM of 31-37, while Paulo Dybala, who got a brace against Barca, is at 22-27 having scored 17 goals in all competitions.

It is going to be fascinating to see how the French hosts deal with their visitors’ formidable back-line, with Spreadex offering a narrow Juventus/Monaco (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0-0.2 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.5-2.7.