Lens welcome Monaco to the Stade Bollaert-Delelis for their final French Ligue 1 fixture of the season. Both teams have little to play for at the moment and given the history of goals in previous meetings, another thrilling contest is expected here.
Lens head into this match following a 1-1 draw at Toulouse last time out in Ligue 1. That result maintained their erratic form in recent weeks having recorded five wins and four defeats in the last 10 matches.
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A key factor behind their struggles has been an unsettled backline, which has failed to keep a clean sheet in the last five matches, shipping nine goals in that run. The situation is worse at home, with Will Still’s team losing their last two matches at Stade Bollaert-Delelis, including a 4-0 defeat to Auxerre in their previous fixture.
Monaco come into this game elated after their 2-0 home league win over Lyon last weekend sealed their automatic spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League. The result extends their fine form as they are now unbeaten in nine of their last 10 matches.
Adi Hutter's men have looked sharp going forward, scoring in their last nine away matches in Ligue 1. That attack often makes up for their vulnerable backline as evidenced by the 3-1 victory at Saint-Etienne in their previous fixture on the road.
How the bookies view it: Bookies backing Monaco
The bookies have Monaco as favourites, with BoyleSports offering odds of 4/5 for an away win. A victory for Lens is valued at 9/4 while a draw is set at odds of 11/4.
Head to head: Monaco on top
Monaco have a 23-14 advantage with 18 draws from 55 previous matches against Lens. The visitors were held to a 1-1 home draw in the reverse fixture and claimed a 3-2 victory on their last visit to the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
Players to watch: Fox in the box Biereth
Monaco’s top scorer Mika Biereth made his return from injury with a brief appearance last weekend against Lyon. Now fully fit and available, the striker could be worth keeping an eye on to add to his 13 Ligue 1 goals at 6/5 with BoyleSports.
Neil El Aynaoui is the leading scorer for Lens with six Ligue 1 goals this season. Having found the net last weekend, the forward is priced at 4/1 by BoyleSports to get on the score sheet.
Probable line ups
Aleksandr Golovin and Denis Zakaria are unavailable for Monaco due to injuries. However, Takumi Minamino, Eliesse Ben Seghir and Biereth are all expected to be in the line-up.
Lens will be without Labeau Lascary, Jhoanner Chavez and Ruben Aguilar through injury. However, Goduine Koyalipou, Nampalys Mendy and El Aynaoui are all expected to start.
Anything else catch the eye?
Monaco have scored over 1.5 goals in six of the last 10 league games and that trend is expected to continue with BoyleSports offering 6/10. The visitors have won the first half of three of the last four matches against Lens and could be set for a repeat at 7/5 on BoyleSports.
Seven of the last eight meetings between both teams have produced over 1.5 goals in the first half and Saturday's clash can be backed to offer up a similar outcome at 6/5 with BoyleSports.
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