Monaco vs Bayer Leverkusen preview - Monaco priorities lie elsewhere

Posted Tuesday, September 16, 2014 by PA

Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen go into their Champions League opener with contrasting form and contrasting objectives on Tuesday night.

Leverkusen lead the Bundesliga and have won five out of six games this season but for Monaco, Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Lyon has left them in 19th place in Ligue 1.

"Clearly for us, the game against Guingamp is more important because tomorrow is about the Champions League," said Monaco midfielder Jeremy Toulalan.

"We know what that represents and it has a special aroma; everybody wants to be involved in matches like these, so I'm not worried about this game but more for the Guingamp one."

With that in mind, Toulalan says the French club can go into Tuesday's clash at the Stade Louis II without any particular pressure.

"Not being worried is going to be one of our strengths in the Champions League," said the Frenchman ahead of Monaco's return to the competition after an eight-year absence.

"That's going to give us some freshness. It's definitely a great experience for the younger players.

"We want to go as far as we can as that can give us confidence."

Leverkusen have different aims going into their Champions League opener, with at least a berth in the last 16 driving them.

"If we can get a win there, it would be extremely valuable," said Roger Schmidt, coach of the Bundesliga side.

"Monaco may have made a bad start to the season but I expect that, given the quality they have got, they play differently in the Champions League.

"We've just got to believe in ourselves."

Leverkusen trained back at home in Germany on Monday before flying to Nice in the afternoon, leaving the injured Simon Rolfes, Julian Brandt and Kyriakos Papadopoulos behind.

On board was Son Heung-min, who says Tuesday night will be the crowning moment of all of last season's efforts.

"We've worked hard all year to be able to play in the Champions League again," said the South Korean on his club's website.

"It's not going to be easy, but we've got to show who we are."