Two of the favourites to win the Conference League are set to lock horns on Thursday, when Monaco host Freiburg at Stade Louis-II on matchday two of the league-phase.

Les Monegasques and Die Breisgau-Brasilianer are both looking for a fourth win in six games, as well as a response to respective defeats last time out.

Match preview

Filipe Luis's Monaco have produced an excellent campaign so far, winning seven, drawing two and losing just one of their 10 competitive matches to date.

That loss came in their most recent outing on Sunday, when Les Monegasques were downed 1-0 by Lorient, failing to respond to Noah Cadiou's second-half penalty.

However, Luis's side remain fifth in Ligue 1 on 14 points, level with the rest of the top five in a tussle for the role of early-season front-runner.

Monaco kicked off their Conference League league-phase with a 2-1 victory over CSKA Sofia last week, with a third-minute opener from Paris Brunner setting the tone for a successful night in Bulgaria.

Les Monegasques will be optimistic about proving their defeat to Lorient was a one-off on Thursday, especially at Stade Louis-II, where they have won three of their four competitive outings this term, scoring eight times in the process.

Meanwhile, Julian Schuster's Freiburg shrugged off the disappointment of losing the 2025-26 Europa League final to deliver a lightning start to this season across all competitions.

Die Breisgau-Brasilianer kicked off their calendar with five consecutive victories, and went on to win seven of their first eight matches, drawing the other.

However, that unbeaten run came to an end on Sunday, when Schuster's side surrendered the early lead that Derry Scherhant earned in a 2-1 loss to Bayer Leverkusen.

That defeat saw Freiburg drop away from the top of the Bundesliga table, but they are still third, just one point shy of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

Keen to get back on track with another victory in the Conference League, the German club will be hoping to put on another fine attacking display, similar to the one that saw them collect all three points from their 3-2 win over FK Baumit Jablonec on matchday one.

Monaco Conference League form:

Monaco form (all competitions):

Freiburg Conference League form:

Freiburg form (all competitions):

Team News

Monaco will be without left winger Stanis Idumbo as he recovers from a back injury, though Ansu Fati will be ready to start on the left alongside Aleksandr Golovin and Takumi Minamino behind striker Paris Brunner.

Elsewhere, centre-back Eric Dier is sidelined due to a thigh injury, so Sabidou Sane and Mohammed Salisu should operate at the heart of Les Monegasques' defence.

As for Freiburg, they have a generally fit squad but are missing attacking midfielder Florent Muslija, who is continuing his rehabilitation following a cruciate ligament injury he suffered in the spring.

In his absence, Yuito Suzuki looks set to start in the number 10 role, supporting Lucas Holer and flanked by Cyriaque Irie and Vincenzo Grifo.

At the opposite end of the pitch, Matthias Ginter should join Max Rosenfelder at centre-back on Thursday, shielding goalkeeper Mio Backhaus.

Monaco possible starting lineup:

Hradecky; Teze, Sane, Salisu, Mawissa; Camara, Zakaria; Minamino, Golovin, Fati; Brunner

Freiburg possible starting lineup:

Backhaus; Kubler, Ginter, Rosenfelder, Gunter; Eggestein, Osterhage; Irie, Suzuki, Grifo; Holer

We say: Monaco 2-2 Freiburg

Monaco have been impressive in the early stages of this season, and will be hopeful about putting their loss at the weekend firmly in the past.

However, Freiburg have been similarly strong this term, so expect to see a close-fought contest with goals from both sides.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.