A closely fought encounter is expected on Saturday as Lens host Lille in a Ligue 1 fixture. Both teams are level on points on the table and seem evenly matched.
Lens head into Saturday’s clash off the back of a 2-0 win at Saint-Etienne in their previous Ligue 1 fixture. Przemyslaw Frankowski opened the scoring early in the contest before Remy Labeau-Lascary added the second after the break.
Manager William Still will be pleased with that result as it means Lens are still unbeaten after eight Ligue 1 matches. However, they have been plagued by too many draws having been held in the previous five fixtures.
Lille are also coming off a victory as they triumphed 3-1 at Atletico Madrid in a Champions League fixture on Wednesday. They fought back from a goal down with Jonathan David netting a brace after Edon Zhegrova had struck the equaliser.
That result means Lille have now won four of their last five matches across all competitions. However, Bruno Genesio’s men are a bit erratic on the domestic scene, picking up just two wins from their last six Ligue 1 matches and playing out a 0-0 draw with Monaco in their previous fixture.
How the bookies view it: Lens the favourites
Lens have the edge among the bookies and are priced at 13/10 by Betfred to claim the win. A victory for Lille is valued at 21/10 by Betfred, who is also offering odds of 23/10 for a draw.
Head to head: Stalemates in Lens
Lille have a 17-10 edge with 12 draws from 39 previous matches against Lens. However, the last three meetings at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis have ended in draws.
Players to watch: David still hot
Jonathan David is coming off a Champions League brace and as always will be the one to watch for Lille. The striker now has eight goals in his last seven matches across all competitions and is priced at 7/4 by Betfred to maintain his scoring run.
Lens often spread their goals across the team but will look to M'Bala Nzola, who has caught the eye in recent weeks. The forward has two goals in his last four matches and is priced at 5/2 by Betfred to find the net once again.
Probable line-ups
Lens have a number of injury absentees with Deiver Machado and Martin Satriano among a list of players ruled out of Saturday’s clash. Nzola is set to lead the line once again, with Kevin Danso expected to continue in defence.
Lille have injury problems of their own, with Tiago Santos, Nabil Bentaleb, Samuel Umtiti and Ethan Mbappe all ruled out. David and Zhegrova should return to the starting line-up after coming off the bench to score in midweek.
Lens: Samba, Khusanov, Danso, Medina, Frankowski, Thomasson, Diouf, Chavez, Sotoca, Fulgini, Nzola
Lille: Chevalier, Toure, Mandi, Ribeiro, Meunier, Gomes, Andre, Gudmundsson, Cabella, Zhegrova, David
Anything else catch the eye?
Lille saw over 3.5 goals in their Champions League fixture and could be set for a repeat at 9/4 with Betfred. Over 2.5 goals could also be considered at 10/11 with Betfred, who is also offering odds of 4/6 on both teams to score.
There were more goals after the break in the last meeting between both teams and a similar pattern is priced at 11/10 by Betfred.
This French Ligue 1 match between Lens and Lille will be played on Oct 26, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Lens vs Lille prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
