Both nurturing faint hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, Lens and Strasbourg will lock horns at Stade Bollaert-Delelis in a Ligue 1 contest on Sunday afternoon.
Les Sang et Or endured a difficult afternoon at the home of Nice last time out, whilst Le Racing enjoyed a much-needed success over bottom side Montpellier HSC.
Match preview
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After a promising run of three wins from their last four Ligue 1 contests of January, Lens commenced their February schedule on a sour note last Saturday afternoon, when this weekend's hosts suffered a two-goal defeat at the Allianz Riviera against an in-form Nice outfit.
Les Sang et Or were bettered in both the possession and chance-creation department by their opponents last time out, with strikes either side of the half-time whistle from Gaetan Laborde and Jonathan Clauss leading to a routine victory for Nice in front of their own supporters.
Following their maiden loss of the month last time out, Will Still's troops have dropped to seventh in the Ligue 1 standings, level on points with Lyon in sixth and four points behind fourth-placed Monaco, who are currently occupying the lowest of the Champions League spots.
Lens have been forced to deal with a number of high-profile departures from their ranks over the course of the winter transfer window, as commanding defenders Abdukodir Khusanov and Kevin Danso moved to Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, whilst attacker Przemyslaw Frankowski secured a loan switch to Galatasaray.
Despite being in contention for a European berth as the campaign reaches its business end, Les Sang et Or possess a relatively-modest home record, with Still's side winning just four, drawing two and losing four of their league contests at Stade Bollaert-Delelis during 2024-25.
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Following back-to-back defeats across Ligue 1 and Coupe de France against Rennes and Angers respectively, Strasbourg returned to winning ways last Sunday afternoon, when they secured a routine two-goal success over top-flight whipping boys in front of their home faithful.
Dominating possession as well as chance creation, Le Racing scored either side of the half-time whistle to seal a maximum on their own turf, with leading marksman Emanuel Emegha and winger Sebastian Nanasi both finding the net.
After a much-needed victory last time out, Strasbourg have moved up to ninth spot in the Ligue 1 standings, just three points behind Lyon in the lowest of the European spots at this stage.
Collecting just nine of their 30 top-tier points away from home so far in 2024-25, Liam Rosenior's side will be looking for a rare success on the road this weekend, with Le Racing winning only twice across 11 away battles.
Team News
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Picking up a red card during the defeat in Ligue 1 last time out, Facundo Medina will be unavailable for Lens on Sunday afternoon as Strasbourg come to town.
There are also injury problems for the hosts to contend with, including that of goalkeeper Denis Petric, who is still sidelined due to a back issue.
Strasbourg are hoping to see the return of Dilane Bakwa into the matchday squad, with the 22-year-old last featuring in January owing to a sprained knee.
Le Racing will be without the services of Ismael Doukoure, with the centre-back suspended for the trip to Lens on Sunday afternoon.
Lens possible starting lineup:
Koffi; Sotoca, Gradit, Sarr, Bah, Machado; Zaoury, El Aynaoui, Diouf; Nzola, Agbonifo
Strasbourg possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Doue, Omobamidele, Sarr; Moreira, Diarra, Santos, Barco; Lemarechal, Emegha, Nanasi
We say: Lens 2-2 Strasbourg
Both in mixed form of late, it is hard to separate Lens and Strasbourg heading into this fixture, so we are predicting a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
