AS Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim is set to give Aleksandr Golovin a starting berth when the principality club face Borussia Dortmund in a crucial UEFA Champions League encounter on Wednesday.
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
UEFA Champions League, Matchday 2, Group A (kick-off 2100 CET)
Borussia Dortmund – AS Monaco 
>> LIVE SCORING FROM 21:00 CET (1900 GMT)
Fitness concerns mean Russian World Cup star Golovin has only started once since his big-money summer move from CSKA Moscow. That was in last week’s shock 1-0 home defeat against Angers SCO, and he was back on the bench at kick-off as Jardim’s side slumped to another loss on Friday, being beaten 2-0 away at AS Saint-Etienne.
“Golovin is a player of great quality. He has been training well for 10 days now and he has several games in his legs. He is finding fitness little by little and he will start against Dortmund,” Jardim told reporters at the Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday.
It has been a wretched start to the campaign for Monaco, who have not won in eight games since the opening weekend of the Ligue 1 Conforama season. That run includes a 2-1 home defeat against Atlético Madrid in their opening match in Champions League Group A.
‘Try to win the game’
Nevertheless, Jardim believes his side can get a result in Dortmund against the current leaders of the Bundesliga.
“The team left a good impression against Atlético Madrid and we can do the same thing here,” said Jardim, whose team won 3-2 on their last visit to Dortmund in the quarter-finals two seasons ago.
“The Champions League is a different competition and we will try to forget about the league and focus on this match. We need to come away from here with a good result, and to do that we need to try to win the game.”
Monaco have now gone nine Champions League games without winning since beating Dortmund home and away in April 2017. Jardim is likely to send his side out with a back five, while English teenager Jadon Sancho has been pushing for a start for Dortmund, with whom he signed a new contract on Tuesday through to 2022. Abdou Diallo, formerly of Monaco, is set to start for the hosts.
Probable teams
Dortmund: Bürki; Hakimi, Akanji, Zagadou, Diallo; Witsel, Delaney; Pulisic, Reus (c), Bruun Larsen; Philipp
Monaco: Benaglio; Sidibé, Raggi, Glik, Jemerson, Henrichs; Tielemans, Aholou, Chadli; Golovin; Falcao (c)
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