Champions League Betting – AS Monaco at Valencia

AS Monaco (+400) at Valencia (-120), Draw (+260)

The field for the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League is nearly set. Tomorrow, AS Monaco will visit Mestalla Stadium (2:45 PM Eastern) to take on Valencia in the first of a two-game playoff that will give the winner a ticket to the Group Stage.

AS Monaco has spent plenty of money over the last two seasons, and missing out on the UCL Group Stage would be a bitter pill to swallow. Last season, they lost to Juventus in the quarterfinals after upsetting Arsenal in the Round of 16.

During the weekend, Monaco drew (0-0) against Lille in their second Ligue 1 fixture and dropping to sixth early in the season. The let down wa somewhat understandable, with the team likely focused on this all-important UCL matchup.

Valencia, on the other hand, haven’t even started their La Liga campaign and, thus, will still be in offseason form. But the team expects big things – both tomorrow and on the year, as a whole – regardless of how much prep they’ve had.

“This club should be aiming to be among the best in Europe and win titles, and we believe we can challenge to do that,” said defender Rodrigo, who played in back-to-back Europa League finals with Benfica. “Keeping a clean sheet and making the most of the chances will be key, Monaco have added some great players and had a great showing last year.”

The head-to-head history doesn’t offer much in the way of trends for bettors. These teams have only met once before, playing to a 2-2 draw during the 2014 Emirates Cup in London. However, Valencia are 8-0-1 against French teams playing at home, while Monaco are just 1-1-6 in Spain.

Pick: Valencia -120.

(Photo credit: Вячеслав Евдокимов (fc-zenit.ru) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)