Preview: Lens vs Sporting Lisbon - prediction, team news, lineups

Two teams looking to build on their respective victories in the Champions League opener will face off at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, where Lens welcome Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday for matchday two of the league phase.

Les Sang et Or came out on the right side of a dramatic five-goal thriller against Slavia Prague in their opening fixture of the European campaign, while the Lions also beat Galatasaray at the Estadio Jose Alvalade on matchday one.

Match preview

Playing in their fourth Champions League campaign and their second in four seasons, Lens began this year's league phase in perfect fashion, coming from behind twice to record a 3-2 victory over 10-man Slavia Prague.

Les Sang et Or were still trailing in the closing stages despite Abdallah Sima's equaliser in the 72nd minute, but stoppage-time goals from Florian Thauvin and Ruben Aguilar turned the game on its head, handing the French side a winning start to their European campaign.

Having exited at the group stage in 2023-24 and been eliminated in the UEFA Conference League qualifying play-off round in 2024-25, Lens, who did not feature in European competition last term, now have the opportunity to make a deep run in Europe's top-tier competition after finishing second in the French top flight in 2025-26.

However, Les Sang et Or have not enjoyed the best spell in the league this term, managing just two victories in their opening six matches, one of those wins coming in an impressive 2-1 victory over Lyon on Friday, leaving Lens 10th in the Ligue 1 table.

That triumph also marked the first win under Yannick Cahuzac, who has overseen two competitive games since taking over from the dismissed Dino Toppmoller, and the former will be optimistic about securing another success on Tuesday, buoyed by the club's European record at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.

Lens have lost only two of their last 29 home games in European competition (W22, D5) and are unbeaten in their most recent 10, with six of those coming in the Champions League (W4, D2) and they will be hoping that record counts on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Sporting arrive in France looking to extend a promising European run after recovering from an early Goncalo Inacio own goal to secure a 3-1 victory over Galatasaray, thanks to goals from Geny Catamo, Luis Suarez and Rodrigo Zalazar.

The result saw the Lions win each of their last three league-phase matches, including triumphs over Paris Saint-Germain and Athletic Bilbao on matchdays seven and eight of the previous season, when the Lisbon outfit enjoyed their deepest run in the competition before exiting at the quarter-final stage.

Tuesday's encounter presents Sporting with another opportunity to extend that impressive record, and they can be optimistic of doing so, having gone nine games unbeaten this season (W6, D3), including an impressive 3-1 success at Braga last Friday, which left Rui Borges' side third in the Primeira Liga table.

However, the Lions have a poor away record to contend with heading into Tuesday's trip to Pas-de-Calais, given they have won just one of their last eight continental fixtures on the road and lost five of those encounters.

Lens Champions League form:

Lens form (all competitions):

Sporting Lisbon Champions League form:

Sporting Lisbon form (all competitions):

Team News

Lens will be without Abdallah Sima, who suffered a thigh injury while on international duty with Senegal and is not expected to return until late November.

Maik Nawrocki also remains sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, while Jhoanner Chavez and Jean-Clair Todibo remain doubts for this fixture.

Matthieu Udol picked up a red card against Lyon, but his suspension does not apply in European competition, meaning he is in contention to feature on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Sporting are expected to be without Nuno Santos, who continues his recovery from a knee injury, while Zalazar is also ruled out of the trip to Lens after coming off against Braga with a muscular problem.

Maxi Araujo and Suarez both made a difference off the bench in Sporting's most recent outing, with the latter scoring the equaliser, with the Colombian attacker having now found the net in seven consecutive games across all competitions for the Lions, scoring eight goals during that run.

Zeno Debast is back in contention after missing the Braga game through suspension and is an option in defence should Borges decide to shuffle his backline.

Lens possible starting lineup:

Risser; Antonio, Ganiou, Gradit; Skoras, Bulatovic, Haidara, Udol; Thauvin, Kadile; Ivanovic

Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:

R Silva; Fresneda, Quaresma, Inacio, Araujo; Altimira, Doumbia; Catamo, Goncalves, Irankunda; Suarez