Girondins de Bordeaux - AS Monaco

Monaco skipper Kamil Glik suffered a broken nose playing for Poland against Slovenia on Tuesday, while Bordeaux will be without the suspended Otavio, Mexer and Vukasin Jovanovic, as well as the injured Yacine Adli and François Kamano.

Defence has been a problem all season for Monaco, but Jardim has resolutely kept faith with Glik, who has started 12 matches. A mainstay of the backline that won the Ligue 1 Conforama title under Jardim in 2016-2017, the 31-year-old has required defending in public by the Portuguese coach this season after being blamed in large part for the club's defensive shortcomings that have seen them concede 22 league goals this season. Only Toulouse, with 25, have shipped more.

Though Bordeaux collected four points against Monaco last season, the 2-1 home win for Les Girondins in Week 3 was Monaco's only reverse in the fixture in the last six meetings; four of which the principality club won.

Monaco were 1-0 home winners against Dijon last time out, after which Jardim commented: "We need to put the work in in every sector, not just defensively. Our objective is to finish near the top of the table. We were a long way back and we're starting to make up the deficit. The squad isn't the one we had last year and I am sure that with the work we put in we'll be able to compete for the top positions. We're not alone with those ambitions as there are also the likes of Lille, Lyon, Marseille and others; We'll work hard in order to fulfil our objectives."

Bordeaux have scored 18 goals so far this season yet Sousa has identified finding the back of the net as something his side need to improve. After the 1-1 draw at Nice in Week 13, Sousa said: "Coming here and dominating pleases me. In order to finish near the top of the table, you need to have three or four goalscorers. We work on it during the week and we give confidence to our players."

Jimmy Briand, now up to 96 career Ligue 1 Conforama goals, is club top scorer with four in 13 games this season. Improving the conversion rate from close in must be a target for Sousa as Bordeaux have scored seven league goals from outside the box, more than any other club in the division.  Sousa, at least has some squad members on a scoring high. Samuel Kalu netted for Nigeria against Benin, while Loris Benito scored his first international goal as Switzerland beat Gibraltar 6-1.

Probable Teams

Bordeaux: Costil (c); Kwateng, Koscielny, Pablo; Benrahou, Basic, Tchouaméni, Benito; De Préville, Hwang; Briand

Monaco: Lecomte; Jemerson (c), Maripan, Badiashile; Martins, Henrichs, Bakayoko, Golovin, Gil Dias; Ben Yedder, Slimani