Anderlecht vs Monaco preview - Fabio Coentrao proud to play for Monaco and ready for Europa League opener

Posted Thursday, September 17, 2015 by PA

Defender Fabio Coentrao is eager for increased playing time following his loan move to Monaco.

Coentrao joined the principality club from Real Madrid on a season-long deal last month and made his debut as a substitute in Sunday's 1-0 Ligue 1 win at Gazelec Ajaccio.

He could make his first start in Monaco's Europa League Group J opener at Anderlecht on Thursday.

And speaking at a press conference ahead of the game, the 27-year-old Portugal full-back - who only made a handful of appearances for Real last term and was linked with Manchester United over the summer - said: "I chose Monaco because it is a great club.

"I am proud to wear this shirt. It is a great challenge for me at Monaco and I will be happy to find some playing time."

Looking ahead to the contest in Belgium, Coentrao added: "We expect a big game (on Thursday), but we will be ready.

"I know Anderlecht are a good team with excellent players.

"It will inevitably be a tough game, but our goal is to win as always."

Monaco, who are now without Anthony Martial following his recent move to United, go into the fixture with Sunday's victory only their second from their opening five league games.

A shaky start to the season has also seen them lose a Champions League play-off against Valencia.

They made a slow start in 2014-15 as well when they there were dealing with the loss of James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao, winning only one of their first five Ligue 1 matches.

But boss Leonardo Jardim is reluctant to draw comparisons.

"We have started better than last season and we will continue to work," he said.

"But our current situation is not comparable to that of last season around the same period."