Tottenham Hotspur will be heading to Stade Louis II as Thomas Frank & Co. look for a response after their home defeat to Aston Villa.
The Lilywhites had a shock result at N17 last weekend, which raised a few concerns around Spurs’ home form under the Danish head coach who took charge of the proceedings along the summer. But while their bright Premier League start has been damped by a few results, Tottenham are still unbeaten in the Champions League so far this season, but they arrive in Monaco with questions around both their form and fitness.
While the hosts for this midweek are set to begin a new chapter, recently appointed manager Sebastien Pocognoli will look to make his mark in the European elite. He has taken charge of the Ligue 1 giants from long-time manager Adi Hutter after a string of poor results.
Match Details
Location: Stade Louis II
Kickoff: Oct 22, 2025 at 8pm UK time
Team News
Monaco
Eric Dier will be the headline absentee for the North Londoners as he misses a much-anticipated Lilywhites reunion.
Pocognoli has few other injury problems to deal with, given Paul Pogba is still not match fit yet and he keeps on the sidelines alongside Lukas Hradecky (knee), Christian Mawissa (hamstring), Vanderson (hamstring), Denis Zakaria (adductor) and Lamine Camara (ankle).
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham have a few injury concerns going into this game. And it starts from club skipper Cristian Romero, who pulled out of the game against Villa in the warm-up and is unlikely to be risked midweek. Destiny Udogie also missed the meeting with Unai Emery’s side owing to a minor knee issue, and it is to be seen whether he is available for the North Londoners or not.
Then comes Mathys Tel, who is ineligible to represent Tottenham in the Champions League at the moment. And now the Frenchman is managing a calf knock which he picked up in the Villa game.
Kevin Danso is expected to continue at the heart of defence alongside Micky van de Ven in central defence. There is a chance that Djed Spence may again fill in at left-back.
And then continuing with the list of names who are serving the sidelines for the Lilywhites on a long term, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Yves Bissouma, Radu Dragusin, Ben Davies, and Dominic Solanke will all miss the game.
Pre-game tactical preview
Monaco ended their game with a 1-1 draw with Angers at the weekend. This result took their winless streak to three. There has been a lot of defensive vulnerability still very much in evidence, but there is also a change in tactics which is quite noticeable after Pocognoli took charge of the proceedings.
AS Monaco are yet to keep a clean sheet this season. There is this sense of vulnerability that remains at Stade Louis II when they are being forced to defend wide or subjected to second-phase attacking transitions.
For the visitors, midfield rotations should again revolve around Rodrigo Bentancur. Against Villa, we saw how he often played in the left centre-back role when Van de Ven pushed higher into midfield (something which could be done here if Monaco press with high wide players).
Simons and Kudus (and maybe Richy) may end up looking to target Monaco’s spaced-out wide channels. But Tottenham do need to be more incisive in choices with that final (or pre-final) action, given how that’s where things didn’t come through for the Lilywhites against Villa.
While for Monaco, their likely threat is through runners in behind lines and transition pace. Akliouche and Fati have given them that unpredictability in zone 14. But if Balogun plays up front, the Arsenal academy graduate does have those movements across the front which can pull centre-backs out of position, and without Romero, Tottenham’s backline will have to handle that well.
Predicted Lineups
Monaco
Kohn; Salisu, Kehrer, Henrique; Diatta, Coulibaly, Teze, Ouattara; Akliouche, Fati; Balogun
Tottenham
Vicario; Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Spence; Sarr, Bentancur, Bergvall; Johnson, Richarlison, Simons
