Monaco and Lille are in action for the first time in the new year when they go head to head at the Stade Louis II in round 17 of the French Ligue 1 on Saturday.
While the home side have blown hot and cold in recent weeks, Lyon are on a run of five from their last six matches and will look to keep the ball rolling in the second half of the campaign.
FootballWhispers’ Monaco vs Lyon prediction examines the odds of both sides picking up maximum points here and kicking off the new year on the front foot.
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Monaco vs Lyon prediction: Lyon’s away woes to continue
Key stats
- Monaco have scored first in six of their last seven games against Lyon, with a combined 19 goals scored across the seven matches since February 2022.
- There have also been fewer than 11 corner kicks in each of their last 10 meetings, with seven of their most recent eight encounters seeing under 4.5 cards.
- Lyon are on a run of five consecutive away games without a win in the league, picking up two points from a possible 15 since scraping a 1-0 victory at Lille back in September.
Correct score prediction: Monaco 2-1 Lyon
Having picked up just three points from their last six league matches, Monaco head into the weekend in search of a pick-me-up as they look to return to the European qualification places. Monaco have their work cut out against an in-form Lyon side, who have won each of their last three outings, but we predict they will make the most of their home advantage and come away with all three points, albeit by the odd goal.
Pre-game odds and win probability: Bookies have Monaco down as favourites this weekend
- HOME: 19/20 (1.95) – 51.2%
- DRAW: 29/10 (3.90) – 25.6%
- AWAY: 12/5 (3.40) – 29.4%
*odds from Ladbrokes, subject to change
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Following their solid start to the campaign, Monaco saw their form plunge at the tail end of 2025, losing five of their six Ligue 1 matches to close out the year.
Sebastien Pocognoli’s men have lost seven league matches already, just two shy of their total tally from last season, when they secured a third-placed finish in the standings.
This poor run of results has seen Monaco drop into ninth place in the Ligue 1 standings, level on 23 points with Toulouse and Strasbourg, and four points off the European qualifying places.
Monaco head into the new year off the back of reaching the Coupe de France round of 32 on December 21 courtesy of a 2-1 victory over Auxerre, and the bookmakers have them as favourites to come out on top this weekend, currently priced at 19/20.
This indicates a 51.2% win probability, compared to Lyon’s 29.4%, while there is a 25.6% likelihood of the game ending all square at the Stade Louis II this weekend.
Lyon made it three straight wins across all competitions in their final outing of the year on December 21, when they thrashed amateur side St Cyr Collonges 3-0 to reach the Coup de France round of 32.
Paulo Fonseca’s men have now won five of their last six matches across all competitions, including back-to-back victories over Maccabi Tel Aviv and Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa League, where they currently sit top of the league table with 15 points from a possible 18.
Lyon have won eight of their 16 Ligue 1 matches heading into the second half of the season while losing five and claiming three draws to collect 27 points and sit fifth in the standings, level on points with sixth-placed Rennes.
While we take a deeper look into both teams, you can take a peek at some of the best picks and predictions for this weekend’s fixtures by FootballWhispers in today’s free football betting tips.
Most recent H2Hs: Results split right down the middle
The results have been evenly shared between Monaco and Lyon across their last 10 meetings, with both sides claiming five wins each since April 2021.
However, Monaco did the league double over Lyon last season, claiming a 2-0 victory at the Groupama Stadium in August 2024, before winning by the same scoreline in the return fixture back in May.
France Ligue 1 10/05/25
Monaco
Lyon
France Ligue 1 24/08/24
Lyon
Monaco
France Ligue 1 28/04/24
Lyon
Monaco
France Ligue 1 15/12/23
Monaco
Lyon
France Ligue 1 19/05/23
Lyon
Monaco
Monaco preview: Several key names still missing
Monaco remain without the duo of Lamine Camara and Krepin Diatta, who are both away with the Senegal national team at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations.
On the injury front, Pocognoli will be unable to call upon the services of Ansu Fati and experienced midfielder Paul Pogba, who have been sidelined through muscle and calf injuries respectively.
Takumi Minamino was forced off injured against Auxerre last time out due to a knee injury and the former Liverpool man is a major doubt for this weekend’s tie.
Predicted lineup: Hradecky (GK), Vanderson, Kehrer, Salisu, Henrique, Teze, Zakaria, Akliouche, Biereth, Golovin & Balogun
Last five games
- Auxerre 1-2 Monaco
- Marseille 1-0 Monaco
- Monaco 1-0 Galatasaray
- Stade Brestois 1-0 Monaco
- Monaco 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain
Lyon preview: Trio set to miss out
Lyon will take to the pitch without 22-year-old Ernest Nuaah and Belgian forward Malik Fofana, who have been ruled out through knee and ankle injuries respectively.
Experienced defender Moussa Niakhate is currently on duty with Senegal at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations and the 29-year-old is also out of contention for Lyon.
Predicted lineup: Greif (GK), Vinicius, Kluivert, Hateboer, Maitland-Niles, Merah, Morton, Tolisso, Moreira, Satriano & Sulc
Last five games
- Lyon 3-0 St Cyr Collonges
- Lyon 1-0 Le Havre
- Lyon 2-1 Go Ahead Eagles
- Lorient 1-0 Lyon
- Lyon 3-0 Nantes
Player to watch — Pavel Sulc
Sulc has played a key role in Lyon’s recent run of form and the Czech international, who joined from Viktoria Plzen last summer, will be one to keep an eye on.
The 25-year-old turned in another standout display last time out, when he netted a brace against St Cyr Collonges to send Fonseca’s men through to the cup round of 32.
Sulc has netted four goals and set up three more in his last six matches and should lead the attack for Lyon once again, forming the front three with Martin Satriano and Afonso Moreira.