Liverpool vs Monaco Prediction: Betting Tips & Odds

Liverpool and Monaco meet at Anfield on Monday morning New Zealand time in a pre-season friendly that doubles as Andoni Iraola’s first home game in charge. 

It’s been over 20 years since these two clubs last faced each other - back in the 2004-05 Champions League group stage - and both are working under new management ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.

In this Liverpool vs Monaco preview, I’m looking at where both squads are at after staggered World Cup returns and some patchy tour results. I’ve got a goals-market angle at over $2.20 for those hunting football tips this week.

Liverpool

Liverpool spent close to £450m last summer, a year after winning the Premier League under Arne Slot. 

A fifth-place finish in 2025-26 cost Slot his job, and now Iraola is the one trying to get this squad firing. Wins over Sunderland and Wrexham came before a 2-4 collapse against Leeds, where Liverpool blew a two-goal lead after the break.

What I want to see here is Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo getting their first minutes under Iraola. Both trained separately at the AXA Centre after the Netherlands’ World Cup exit, and this was always pencilled in as their return fixture. Alisson should be involved too, which gives Iraola close to his strongest available XI for the first time.

Florian Wirtz scored on his pre-season debut against Leeds and looked lively, while Alexander Isak also got 45 minutes as both were eased back in after their World Cup commitments. 

I think Liverpool will look a different side with their senior players back.

Team News: Ekitike (Achilles), Bradley (knee), Leoni (ACL), Gomez (muscle) and Jaros all sidelined. Mac Allister returns August 10. Frimpong being monitored after coming off vs Leeds. Endo could get minutes and Bajcetic is close to full fitness.

Predicted Lineup: Mamardashvili; Frimpong, Van Dijk, Jacquet, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Wirtz, Jones, Gakpo; Isak.

Monaco

Filipe Luis is a fascinating appointment. Two seasons at Flamengo yielded a Copa Libertadores and a Brazilian championship before he moved to the Principality, and this is his first European coaching job. Monaco finished seventh in Ligue 1 last season - enough for Conference League but well short of the Champions League.

Their pre-season hasn’t been convincing, however. 

A 5-2 win over amateur side Saint-Priest was followed by a 2-0 loss at Sporting CP, and against Cercle Brugge Monaco had to come from two goals down through Aleksandr Golovin and Paris Brunner just to salvage a draw. Their Cercle teamsheet was heavy on youth, which suggests the senior group is being phased in ahead of Conference League play-offs later in August.

I’m interested to see how Ansu Fati goes. At 23, he hasn’t had a consistent run at Barcelona for a long time, and Monaco could be where he gets the regular football he needs. Folarin Balogun’s 19 goals in all competitions last season is the attacking output Luis will be hoping to harness.

Team News: Akliouche, Zakaria, Camara, Balogun and Minamino were all absent in earlier pre-season fixtures. Availability for this game depends on World Cup return schedules. Squad heads to St George’s Park for an England training camp from August 9.

Predicted Lineup: Hradecky; Vanderson, Kehrer, Salisu, Nazinho; Zakaria, Camara; Akliouche, Golovin, Fati; Balogun.

• Liverpool’s three pre-season games have produced 13 goals combined.
• Monaco’s Ligue 1 season ended with a 5-4 loss at Strasbourg on the final day.
• Liverpool won 2-0 the last time Monaco visited Anfield, in November 2004.
• Monaco were knocked out of the Champions League by PSG in the knockout round play-offs, losing 5-4 on aggregate.

I’m picking Liverpool here, and it shouldn’t be a tight one. 

Van Dijk and Gakpo coming back gives this side a completely different feel to the one that fell apart against Leeds. Iraola will want a strong performance in front of the Anfield crowd on his home debut, and I expect him to go close to full strength for 60 minutes before rotating.

Where I’m less certain is Monaco. Their best players have barely featured in pre-season, and Luis is still figuring out what he’s got. I can see Liverpool winning comfortably, but I also think Monaco will find the net at least once. I’ll go 3-1 Liverpool.

If you’re watching through the best live betting sites, pay attention to the substitution windows. Against Leeds, the period after Liverpool’s changes was where everything unravelled.

Over 3.5 Goals @ $2.20

Liverpool’s three pre-season friendlies have produced 13 goals between them. Monaco’s final Ligue 1 game was a nine-goal affair at Strasbourg. 

Pre-season friendlies under new managers are open by nature - wholesale changes at half-time disrupt whatever defensive structure is being worked on, and both sides are focused on fitness and integration over results.

At $2.20 on the NZ betting sites, I think there’s value here given how free-scoring these fixtures have been across the board this summer.