Reims will look to drag themselves away from the Ligue 1 relegation zone when they welcome Monaco to the Stade Auguste Delaune on Sunday afternoon.

Just two points separate Reims from the bottom three, while Monaco have been unable to build on last season's third-place finish and currently sit 10th.

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Having taken the side back into the Champions League qualification rounds in the previous campaign, Niko Kovac would have had aspirations of cementing a place in Ligue 1's top three, yet the Croatian manager has been left disappointed so far.

Monaco won only one of their opening six league matches, with the club at one point dropping as low as 19th in the table.

Thankfully for the Monegasques, they have since found some form and a run of one defeat in six matches between September and October had left the side on the brink of a European place.

That optimism was crushed last time out by relegation-threatened Brest, who were surprising 2-0 winners over Monaco, shunting their recent run of good results.

Kovac's side will be confident of returning to winning ways this weekend when they face another side struggling for form, not least because they are unbeaten in the previous six meetings together.

A draw at the Stade Louis II last August was followed up by a convincing 2-0 win at the Stade Auguste Delaune in May, as Kovac and Monaco targeted a spot in the Champions League.

Reims could hardly be further away from the Champions League spaces, with only a two-point buffer separating them from Ligue 1's relegation zone.

Their four-season spell in the top flight is currently under pressure, having experienced a relatively comfortable stay in Ligue 1 since returning in 2018.

Two consecutive top-half standings welcomed the Red and Whites back from Ligue 2, while last season's 14th-placed finish was their lowest in Ligue 1 since their most recent relegation season in 2015-16.

Similarly to Monaco, Reims also had a winless start to the current campaign, going four matches without a win, before triumphing against Stade Rennais.

Since then, they have only manged to take three points on one other occasion, with a victory against visitors Monaco on Sunday looking like an increasingly difficult proposition.

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If Reims hold any hopes of snatching something against Monaco, they will most likely have to rely on the talents of Hugo Ekitike, who has netted a quarter of their goals this season.

What is more, he has scored in both of Reims' wins this season, making his four goals for the campaign invaluable to the Red and Whites.

Ekitike and the rest of his Reims teammates' jobs will be made even harder by the absence of a number of players, with two first-team regulars out injured.

Mitchell Van Bergen and Marshall Munetsi have made 12 league appearances between them this season, but the pair will be absent on Sunday.

Further injury concerns for Reims boss David Guion include Fraser Hornby and Arber Zeneli, who are yet to feature this season.

Monaco are not without their own injury concerns, as Kovac himself will be without three players to pick from for their trip North.

Krepin Diatta will be missing with an ankle injury, whilst Eliot Matazo is struggling with a muscle problem that has troubled the promising forward all season.

An almost constant in the Monaco side last season, Cesc Fabregas has only made five appearances across all competitions this year and will not feature on Sunday due to a sustained hamstring issue.

Reims possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Doucoure, Faes, Abdelhamid, Konan; Matusiwa, Cassama; Flips, Mbuku, Toure; Ekitike

Monaco possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Aguilar, Maripan, Badiashile, Henrique; Martins, Tchouameni, Lucas, Diop; Volland, Ben Yedder

We say: Reims 1-2 Monaco

If Kovac and Monaco have any hopes of reaching the lofty heights that they achieved last season, they must start to pick up more wins in the games against sides below them.

Whether the Brest defeat was a blip or not remains to be seen, yet Reims have not demonstrated enough to suggest they will be able to stop Monaco this weekend.

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