After falling at Lyon last time out, Lens face Troyes on Friday night in a French Ligue 1 contest. The Stade Bollaert-Delelis has been a fortress for the hosts this season and they should have the edge over an inconsistent Troyes side.
The rest of Ligue 1 appears to be playing catch-up to PSG this season and Lens were at the front of the chasing pack. However, a 2-1 defeat to Lyon in their previous fixture has seen them drop to fourth on the table.
While manager Franck Haise will be disappointed with that result, he will be confident of setting things right in their next fixture as they return to the Stade Bollaert-Delelis. They have won three of their last four home matches, and eased to a 4-1 victory over Metz in their last fixture on their own turf.
One of the problems for Lens lately has been an inability to keep things tight at the back. They have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last six matches, conceding seven goals in that run.
It has been mixed fortunes for Troyes this season and they are currently down in the bottom half of the table. They seem to be slowly turning things around in recent weeks and are unbeaten in their last three matches.
Troyes are coming off a 2-2 draw with Rennes last time out in Ligue 1 with goals from Adil Rami and Tristan Dingome cancelled out by the visitors. Their inability to hold on to that lead is a pointer to a leaky defence that has kept just one clean sheet in their last seven matches.
Laurent Batlles’ men also have a poor record on the road. They travel to Lens with two defeats in their last three away matches.
How the bookies view it
Lens have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 4/6 by betway to claim the win. A victory for Troyes is valued at 9/2 with SBK while a draw is priced at 3/1 with Unibet.
Head to head
Lens have a 12-8 advantage with eight draws from 28 previous matches against Troyes. Lens claimed a 1-0 victory the last time they faced Troyes at home during the 2019/20 Ligue 2 season.
Players to watch
Lens have multiple attacking threats with strikers Ignatius Ganago and Wesley Said scoring three goals each this season. Betfred has Ganago at 2/1 to score anytime while Paddy Power is offering 21/10 on Said in the same market.
Mama Balde has been in good form for Troyes lately and has scored in two of his last three Ligue 1 matches. The striker is priced at 3/1 with bet365 to find the net on Friday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Lens have seen over 2.5 in their last two Ligue 1 matches and could be set for a repeat at 5/6 with SBK. The hosts also scored in both halves in their last home fixture and could be set for a repeat at 13/8 with Skybet.
There have been more goals before the break in Troyes’ last two matches, so the first half could be tipped as the highest scoring half at 23/10 with Paddy Power.
This French Ligue 1 match between RC Lens and Troyes will be played on Nov 5, 2021 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best RC Lens vs Troyes prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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