Tottenham Hotspur travel to Monaco on Tuesday night knowing they could be eliminated from the Champions League should they fail to win.
Spurs are currently third in Group E and face a tricky tie against a side who are top of the table and unbeaten so far.
If Mauricio Pochettino’s side don’t return with all three points they face being knocked out, should Bayer Leverkusen get at least a draw against CSKA Moscow – with the German side enjoying the better head-to-head record after beating Spurs at Wembley.
Monaco will be very keen to make the most of home advantage, especially as they know a win would guarantee safe passage to the knockout rounds and could get them top spot depending on Leverkusen’s result.
The French side boast some impressive statistics in both Europe and Ligue 1 this season that will make Spurs fans very wary. Here are three stats Tottenham fans need to know ahead of kickoff.
UNDEFEATED IN SEVEN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GAMES
The first statistic won’t make happy reading for Spurs fans – Monaco are unbeaten at Stade Louis II this season.
As mentioned above, Monaco are yet to lose in the group stages, securing two wins and two draws.
They also beat Villarreal in both legs in qualifying and defeated Fenerbahce in the second leg to make it seven games unbeaten in the Champions League.
Leonardo Jardim clearly knows how to set his side up so they don’t lose, which is very bad news for Mauricio Pochettino.
FREE-SCORING IN 2016/17
More bad news for Spurs – Monaco have hardly been goal shy this season, particularly at home.
They’ve scored the most goals in Ligue 1 and are averaging an incredible three goals per-game – making them the top scorers in any of Europe’s top five leagues.
What’s worse is that the goals don’t come from just one source, with seven separate players scoring three or more goals.
Slightly more encouraging for Spurs fans, however, is that they have average only 1.75 goals per game in Europe.
UNBEATEN IN 13 HOME GAMES
We’ve already established Leonardo Jardim doesn’t like to be beaten in Europe – but he especially doesn’t like losing at home full stop.
Monaco haven’t lost at the Stade Louis II in thirteen matches, with their last home defeat coming against Bordeaux back in April.
They beat both Fenerbahce and Villarreal at home in qualifying, as well as CSKA Moscow in the CL proper – while Bayer Leverkusen were also unable to take all three points when they drew 1-1 at the end of September.
