Monaco vs. Strasbourg preview: Denis Zakaria to make his debut? | OneFootball

Having completed his move from Juventus earlier this week, Denis Zakaria could make his AS Monaco debut against a revitalised Strasbourg on Sunday (kick-off Sunday 7pm CEST).

>> LIVE TEXT, COMMENTARY, SCORING & STATS Despite victory in their Ligue 1 UberEats opener against Clermont, Monaco manager Adi Hütter bemoaned his side’s defensive frailty. The Austrian manager will be looking to shore-up his backline, and against Strasbourg, he will have more options to do so. Wilfried Singo, a versatile defender signed from Torino, has arrived on a five-year deal, as has Zakaria, who has also commited to the club until 2028.  Speaking on Friday, Hütter alluded to a Zakaria debut on Sunday, saying that the Swiss international had “trained really well” in his first days at the Principality club. Hütter added that whilst Zakaria is most natural in a holding midfield role, he is more than capable of filling in at the back, especially when deploying a three-man defence. Although unlikely, the former Juventus player could feature in that back-line with the trio of Soungoutout Magassa, Guillermo Maripán and Chrislain Matsima failing to convince in last weekend's 4-2 victory over Clermont. Watch: Monaco beat Clermont in six-goal thriller    Defence was Monaco’s achilles heel last season. The Monégasques finished the campaign with the seventh-worst defensive record in the division. The team, managed by Philippe Clement at the time, conceded three at home against the Alsace club back in April, and Hütter is expecting another open game.  “You can see both teams trying to play offensively. We did that at Clermont, but we need to find more stability in the defence; we lost too many duels. We didn’t have enough dynamism before the water break [against Clermont]. We are far from perfect and we need to find a good balance, this is our job,” said Hütter, who has identified Emanuel Emegha, whom he knows from his time in Austria as a danger-man. “I know Emegha from his time at Sturm Graz, he’s a really fast player,” he added.    WATCH: Strasbourg beat Lyon in Round 1 Strasbourg will be buoyed by their 2-1 victory against Lyon in matchday one, but despite their considerable investment so far this summer, they will head into the tie as the underdog. Monaco did the double over Les Alsaciens last season, but the margins were fine. Given the latter’s strengthened roster this campaign, another tight battle can be expected in what could ultimately be a match between rivals for the European places.   Probable teams   Monaco: Köhn; Magassa, Maripán, Singo; Henrique, Camara, Fofana, Vanderson; Golovin, Ben Yedder, Minamino Strasbourg: Sels; Sylla, Doukouré, Nyamsi; Guilbert, Bellegarde, Deminguet, Prcic, Delaine; Emegha, Mothiba   >> MATCH PREVIEW: Lens vs. Rennes    >> Denis Zakaria signs for AS Monaco