It's time for episode two of the Monaco - Bayer 04 Leverkusen Knockout Round Play-offs battle

It's quite the trip for Bayer 04 Leverkusen when visiting Monaco as the cities are 1100 kilometers apart.

It’s busy days for these teams as both were in action only a few days ago. There’s no rest for the wicked, or in this case; no rest for Monaco and Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

Monaco form and stats

7 victories, 2 draws and 3 defeats. That’s what Monaco have to build on here at Stade Louis II. in the Ligue 1. 4W-1D-2L is the hard facts regardless of venue in the Europa League for Monaco.

It's back home for Monaco, who return with a good feeling about themselves after beating Brest away with the result 2-1. Golovin and Boadu found the net in that victory. Manager Clement felt very clever after Boadu scored the winning goal against Brest, having brought on that player as a substitute in the 67th minute. Fofana (midfield) was the top team player in that game with a rating of 7.84/10. Fofana hit one key pass and had 55 successful passes (of 62 total).

Before that game, a strong away victory at Bayer 04 Leverkusen. A Europa League match. This is expected to be a close game, with Monaco perhaps considered small favourites due to their home advantage. Looking back at earlier matches similar to this one (expected to be close with Monaco as a small favourite), we find 5 games. Monaco has won 2 of these, drawn 2 and lost 1.

There's a new fixture coming up fairly quickly for Monaco, as the Ligue 1 home game vs Nice is only three days away.

With an average of more than two goals per home game in the league (29 in 12 games), Monaco's attacking play is working. With more than 1,5 conceded goals on average, the Monaco defense is not exactly impregnable. 19 goals conceded from 12 games. You can find more goal stats on the Statistics tab above.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen form and stats

As the visiting team in Bundesliga matches, Bayer 04 Leverkusen have produced an overall stat of 4-1-5 so far.

Home advantage was not enough for Bayer 04 Leverkusen in their previous game as they lost hosting Mainz 05, 2-3. Defender Hincapié was the best team player with a rating of 7.32. Hincapié hit one key pass and won 5 of 7 duels.

The fixture before was the Europa League-duel against Monaco, a home defeat (2-3). So, this is expected to be a close game, an even contest. Looking at earlier matches with Bayer 04 Leverkusen playing away and similar expectations, we found 4 relevant matches. Results were {2 Bayer 04 Leverkusen wins}, 1 draw and 1 defeat.

There might be some complaints about the fixture list from the Leverkusen manager Olano as the team has another away game coming up in only three days, this time against Freiburg.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen have a decent goal production going in their away games, although not fantastic. In 10 league away games 14 goals have been scored. Defensive performances away have varied in quality as Bayer 04 Leverkusen have conceded 19 goals on the road. For more goal statistics, check out the Statistics tab above.

Head 2 Head

Monaco and Bayer 04 Leverkusen have faced off previously this season: Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Monaco 2-3. H2H stats regardless of arena (last five matches): Monaco three wins, one draw and Bayer 04 Leverkusen one victory. As for goals, two matches ended with three or more goals (over 2,5), three games had two or less.

Top Goalscorers

W. Ben Yedder 14 goals

B. Embolo 12 goals

M. Diaby 7 goals

Monaco missing players

Bayer 04 Leverkusen missing players