Monaco head coach Leonardo Jardim has no fears
over his vibrant young side being shut down by
Juventus as Barcelona were in the quarter-finals of
the Champions League.
The Ligue 1 leaders host Juventus in the first leg of
a keenly anticipated semi-final at the Stade Louis II
on Wednesday, their swashbuckling style having
won countless admirers during the course of their
high-scoring triumphs against Manchester City and
Borussia Dortmund.
They will face a different challenge in the shape of
Juve and their experienced backline, who left Lionel
Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez without a goal to
show for their efforts over 180 minutes during the
previous round.
"I think that we'll score in their stadium too," said
Jardim.
"We scored three at Dortmund, three at City and
also a couple at Tottenham."
Nevertheless, such confidence does not necessarily
mean a cavalier approach.
"Juventus are very different to Dortmund and City,"
said Jardim.
"Those clubs are more attack-minded and less
focused on defence. We'll need to pay attention to
transitional phases in both defence and attack.
"When they're well set up they are difficult to score
against so we'll need to move the ball quickly
going forward."
Monaco will assess Tiemoue Bakayoko after the
midfielder broke his nose in a training-ground
accident with defender Kamil Glik last week.
He trained wearing a protective mask on Tuesday
and Jardim added: "We'll look at Bakayoko
tomorrow. Maybe he'll need a new mask. There's
one due to arrive tomorrow.
"We'll be 100 per cent physically and mentally
ready for this match."