The excitement is high... What you need to know before AS Monaco's Ligue 1 starts this Saturday against Le Havre

Since taking over on the Monaco bench, Adi Hütter has shown a certain know-how in getting his team off to a good start in Ligue 1.

In 2023, ASM was the leader after nine matches. They were again last fall after seven matches. Title hopes had been raised each time, with the Monegasques suggesting they would be able to challenge the Parisian giants, but these hopes quickly fizzled out as winter approached.

The Principality club nevertheless reached the podium each time (2nd in 2024, 3rd last May), with a direct ticket to the Champions League in its pocket.

The fact remains that there were some very real gaps that needed to be filled: the lack of a reliable goalkeeper over the long term, numerous defensive errors and poor performances against the lesser teams in Ligue 1, to sum up.

Will Hütter make his team's game grow?

The Monaco board has been busy this summer bringing experienced players to the dressing room, leaders who are expected to guide the squad through the weaker periods. Paul Pogba, Eric Dier, and Lukas Hradecky have all stepped up to the plate. The 2018 world champion is a gamble, as is winger Ansu Fati.

The former Turin and Barcelona players have the profile to take their new team to the next level, but they are currently in rehab. "La Pioche" is expected to return to competition in October, and his propensity to regain his form (or at least part of it) will be the attraction of the princely season.

Every start to the season is full of excitement, but it will be either fueled or dampened depending on how the next two weeks unfold.

The case of Maghnes Akliouche, who his managers and his coach want to "keep for one more season" , and that of Vanderson, who could start on the bench this evening, will shake up the end of the Monaco transfer window.

Their departure, if it materializes, may lower the ambitions. "A transfer of Maghnes would change our face, yes. He is a special player," Hütter confessed on Thursday.

On paper, the Austrian believes his team has improved its set-piece attacks and counter-pressing. He is now aiming to improve his handling of opponents' transitions, aware that he will also be judged on his ability to play a more attractive game.

Scuro: "The best preparation of the last three years"

On the starting line, Monaco launches its great adventure with a bloated squad, still "too full" for Hütter, but full of dreams. In the offices, finishing 23 points behind PSG, as was the case last season, stung the eyes and the ego. "The gap was too big and we want to reduce it," stated the coach.

Facing HAC this Saturday evening, it will be interesting to observe the behavior against a "small" Ligue 1 team, saved at the last minute in May and who ended their preseason with three defeats, a draw and a small goal scored. " We will have to take each match seriously ," warns Hütter, scalded by some hiccups from the previous season.

"We've had the best preparation of the last three seasons," said CEO Thiago Scuro. "The new recruits have been there since the beginning, and the team's development has been more stable. That's a big advantage. We've done what we needed to do to work better. We hope that translates to the pitch." To keep the excitement at its peak.

Probable teams:

Monaco (4-4-2): Hradecky - Teze, Dier, Mawissa, Henrique - Akliouche, Camara, Zakaria (cap.), Golovin - Biereth, Minamino.

Le Havre (4-2-3-1): Diaw - Sangante (cap), Youté, Lloris, Zouaoui - Ndiaye, Seko - Namli, Kechta, Mambimbi - Soumaré.