- 1 Gornik Zabrze vs Monaco: a European return against a side thats yet to kick a ball
- 2 Gornik Zabrze: home turf against an opponent lacking sharpness
- 3 Monaco: the stronger squad, but no competitive reference point
- 4 Conference League prediction Gornik Zabrze vs Monaco
- 5 First, a word on our free picks
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information moves fast
- 8 Your role
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the images…
Gornik Zabrze vs Monaco: a European return against a side thats yet to kick a ball 
Monaco play their first official game of the season on Thursday. Ligue 1 only gets going after this trip to Poland.
The first leg of this Conference League playoff takes place at Stadion Ernest-Pohl in Zabrze, and it will also be Filipe Luiss first match in charge of Monaco. Not exactly a gentle introduction for a new boss.
Gornik Zabrze, by contrast, arrive with two months of competitive football already in the legs. The Polish club have played four European matches this summer and have been in league action since late July.
That gap in rhythm is the big story here. It goes some way to levelling the gulf in resources between the two squads.
Gornik first stumbled in the Champions League, going down 2-1 on aggregate to Fenerbahce in the second qualifying round. Dropped into the Europa League, they then lost 2-1 on aggregate to Ferencvaros in the third round.
Two exits, both by a single goal. The Polish runners-up have hardly been a walkover on the continental stage.
The return leg is on 27 August at Stade Louis-II. The winner goes straight into the league phase.
The winner goes straight into the league phase of the Conference League. The loser is out of Europe for the season.
Gornik are in their 10th straight season in Polands top flight. Theyre back on the continental stage after a very long wait, which gives this tie a bit of extra bite in Upper Silesia.
Monaco, meanwhile, come into it without any recent competitive rhythm as a team. The difference in preparation is the real issue in this first leg.
Gornik Zabrze: home turf against an opponent lacking sharpness 
The Upper Silesian club are back in Europe after a long absence. This is their 10th consecutive season in the Ekstraklasa and their most meaningful continental return in decades.
Their summer results suggest a side that can compete. On 8 August, Gornik won 3-1 away at Radomiak Radom in the league.
Two weeks earlier, on 25 July, they had already beaten Slask Wroclaw 2-1. Two wins, home and away, both showing the same knack for finding the net more than once.
The double-header with Ferencvaros gave the clearest read on their level. After losing 1-0 in Budapest, Gornik held them to a 1-1 draw at home, falling one goal short of the line.
It was much the same against Fenerbahce: a 1-0 defeat in Turkey, then a 1-1 draw in the return. This is a side that doesnt give much away and stays in the fight to the end.
Stadion Ernest-Pohl is another plus. The Silesian crowd has followed the club through the whole European run and has been waiting for this one since the draw was made.
The weakness is finishing in the big moments: just one goal scored in each of their two European ties so far.
Across their four European matches this summer, the Polish side have not conceded more than once in any game. Defensive discipline is the base of this team.
The domestic schedule gives them no breathing room. Gornik go to Rakow Czestochowa on 22 August, just two days after this first leg.
That kind of workload could come back to bite them over time. For now, though, it gives them a clear edge in fitness.
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Monaco: the stronger squad, but no competitive reference point 
AS Monaco enter the tie at the playoff stage, with no need to navigate the qualifying rounds. That means they have not played a competitive match since the end of last season.
Filipe Luis will oversee his first European match as Monaco head coach. The Brazilian takes charge in a straight knockout setting, with no room for a soft landing.
The schedule has not allowed him any warm-up games. Ligue 1 starts after this trip, so his squad have had no high-stakes test at all.
Mamadou Coulibaly is suspended for this first leg. Thats a setback Monaco will need to factor into the balance of midfield.
On paper, the depth in Monacos squad is still well above what Gornik can offer. Monaco live in the upper end of Ligue 1 every year and boast individuals of a different level.
But the first official game rarely comes at full tilt. Defensive automatisms, in particular, take time to settle when a new manager has only just arrived.
Monacos edge is mostly in the format: with the second leg at Stade Louis-II on 27 August, a decent result in Poland is enough to keep control of the tie.
The two-legged format remains Monacos best friend. A one-goal loss in Poland can be repaired pretty comfortably a week later on the Rock.
Monaco have not played a knockout match since the end of last season. The opening 30 minutes on Thursday should tell us plenty.
Probable Gornik Zabrze line-up: Not announced at time of publication.
Probable Monaco line-up: Not announced at time of publication.
Conference League prediction Gornik Zabrze vs Monaco
Our prediction: Under 2.5 goals
Gornik have finished both of their European ties this summer in tight fashion, with just one goal scored in each. They lock things down first and dont open up.
Monaco, meanwhile, arrive with no official match sharpness and a coach still getting to know his group in real time. An away first leg in that sort of setting is usually managed before it is attacked.
The likeliest outcome is a cagey one: fewer than three goals in total.
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