Preview: Lens vs Lyon - prediction, team news, lineups

Amid recent off-field chaos, Lyon strive to bring a sense of serenity on the pitch when they open their latest Ligue 1 campaign against Lens at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Saturday.

The hosts are adjusting to life without Will Still at the helm, while Les Gones could have been adjusting to life in the second tier, but instead, a 37th straight season of top-flight football awaits.

Match preview

Saturday's Ligue 1 opener will be a particularly poignant occasion for Lens' new incumbent, as Pierre Sage takes charge of his first Sang et Or top-flight contest against his erstwhile employers.

The 46-year-old was heralded for steadying the Lyon ship when relegation appeared a genuine possibility in 2023-24, quickly earning himself a permanent contract, but he was ruthlessly sacked in January and replaced by Paulo Fonseca.

A new high-profile job was inevitable for Sage, though, and the former Gones manager will now lead Lens into their sixth successive season of Ligue 1 football as the successor to Southampton-bound Still.

Under the now-Championship manager, Les Sang et Or could not quite upset the European apple cart as they wound up in eighth position, their lowest since returning to the big time in 2020 - a statistic that says a lot about the hosts' meteoric rise since the COVID-19 days.

The wind is in the Lens sails ahead of their return to competitive action, as Sage's men lost just one of their seven friendly matches - a 2-0 reverse to Italian giants Roma - and concluded their summer preparations with an applaudable 2-1 triumph vs. RB Leipzig.

While Sage will be manning the Lens touchline at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lyon boss Fonseca still cannot conduct his domestic duties for another month, as the Portuguese continues to serve his unprecedented ban for his springtime official outburst.

Fonseca has not overseen a Ligue 1 match since squaring up to referee Benoit Millot in early March - barely a few weeks after his arrival - but when he eventually returns to his regular weekend duties, he will do so with his side still fighting the top-flight fight.

Provisionally relegated last season due to their dire financial situation, Les Gones recently succeeded with an appeal, which not only preserved their Ligue 1 status but also their spot in this season's Europa League - their gain was very much Crystal Palace's loss in that regard amid the ongoing UEFA ownership saga.

Fonseca's right-hand man Jorge Maciel led Lyon to a sixth-placed finish in the final months of the season - just one point off the Champions League places - and like Lens, only one of the visitors' five pre-season matches ended in a loss; a 2-1 beating at the hands of Bayern Munich.

However, Lyon are yet to get one over Lens at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis since the hosts made their return to top-flight football in 2020, losing two and drawing three of their five visits to Les Sang et Or's home, where they were slain 2-1 last term.

Lens pre-season form:

Lyon pre-season form:

Team News

The established core of Lens defenders is no more, as Kevin Danso has completed a permanent move to Tottenham Hotspur, Facundo Medina has signed for Marseille on loan, and right wing-back Przemyslaw Frankowski is now plying his trade with Galatasaray.

However, the hosts have acquired Samson Baidoo from Red Bull Salzburg, while also welcoming veteran attacker Florian Thauvin back to French football from Udinese; the 32-year-old is a candidate to spearhead their 3-4-3 system.

Remy Lascary (ACL) and Jhoanner Chavez (ankle) are both absent for the hosts, who do still have one of the defensive old guard in Jonathan Gradit, but the centre-back is banned here for the alleged use of a homophobic slur in the latter stages of last season.

As Lens have undergone several defensive changes, Lyon have waved goodbye to two former integral attackers in Alexandre Lacazette and Manchester City new boy Rayan Cherki, but Malick Fofana and Ernest Nuamah are still on the books.

Nuamah is currently out of contention with a crushing anterior cruciate ligament injury, though, as are Orel Mangala and Nemanja Matic, who is serving a two-game ban for covering up an anti-homophobia message last season.

As a result, newly-signed Tyler Morton should make his full Ligue 1 debut following his switch from Liverpool, while fellow Englishman Ainsley Maitland-Niles bombs down the right-hand side.

Lens possible starting lineup:

Risser; Baidoo, Sarr, Udol; Aguilar, Diouf, Thomasson, Machado; Guilavogui, Said; Thauvin

Lyon possible starting lineup:

Descamps; Kumbedi, Mata, Niakhate, Tagliafico; Maitland-Niles, Tolisso, Morton, Tessmann, Fofana; Mikautadze

We say: Lens 1-1 Lyon

Home was not always where the heart was for Lens last season, as they won just 44% of their points at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, their lowest-ever share in their top-flight history.

However, it is difficult to pick out a pair of more evenly-matched teams meeting on the opening weekend, and a tight stalemate is the only outcome we can picture here.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.