On Thursday, Lorient have an opportunity to qualify for the last eight in the Coupe de France for the first time since 2015-16 when they host Lens at Stade du Moutsoir.
It will be the first time Les Merlus feature in the round of 16 of this competition since falling 2-1 to Bordeaux in 2016-17, while Lens are at this stage of the tournament for a second successive campaign, losing 4-2 at home to Monaco last season.
Match preview
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While their last couple of games have been disappointing, the 2022-23 campaign for the club from Brittany has been fairly encouraging, currently seventh in the table, four points back of a place in Europe.
On Sunday, Lorient extended their unbeaten run at home to three straight matches, though they will see that 0-0 draw versus last-place Angers as a missed opportunity, managing just two efforts on target throughout the match.
Probably the most encouraging sign for Regis Le Bris in their previous encounter was that his squad did not concede a goal at home for just the second time in the 2022-23 domestic campaign.
Getting to this stage of the Coupe de France required a lot of nerve as Lorient gave up an equalising goal to Ligue 2 side Bastia with fewer than 10 minutes remaining in the round of 32, though they kept their cool in the penalty shootout, winning 4-1 in a match which ended up tied at one after 120 minutes.
Coming into this encounter, Lorient have not triumphed against a Ligue 1 opponent in this competition since edging Brest 2-1 in extra time during the 2019-20 tournament when they were in Ligue 2.
Les Merlus have only suffered one defeat in their previous eight encounters at home against Lens, beating them in the league last season 2-0, although Thursday will be the first time both teams meet in the Coupe de France.
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A domestic campaign full of promise has hit a snag for Les Sang et Or, who are now winless in three consecutive league fixtures, drawing Brest 1-1 on Sunday.
That has put a dent in their title aspirations, as they currently trail the league leaders Paris Saint-Germain by five points after being within a victory of catching them a few weeks ago.
Lens have drawn four consecutive league matches away from home, the longest such run for them in the top flight and the longest winless stretch for RCL on the road in this competition since failing to capture six in a row from October to December 2021.
While their form on the road lately has not been great, Franck Haise did see his side capture both of their Coupe de France fixtures this season away from home, defeating Linas-Montlhery 2-0 in early January and following that up with a 3-1 victory over Brest.
Their previous round of 16 encounter at the Coupe de France last season appeared to be over within the opening half-hour when Lens fell behind 3-0 to Monaco, though they have not suffered an away defeat in this competition since 2020-21 when they lost 3-2 at Red Star FC.
Les Sang et Or have not made the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France since 2017-18, when they were in Ligue 2 and lost in the last eight to Les Herbiers EF on penalties.
Team News
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Ibrahima Kone had the only goal for Lorient in their previous Coupe de France encounter versus Bastia, while Vito Mannone was the hero, stopping one penalty with another sailing over the bar, enabling captain Laurent Abergel to fire home the winner.
Mannone collected his first clean sheet of the domestic campaign over the weekend, stopping five Angers efforts, while Romain Faivre made his first appearance for Les Merlus as the man on loan from Lyon played 80 minutes before being replaced by Sirine Doucoure.
Abergel will be sidelined until the end of the month due to a groin strain, Julien Laporte is out until April because of a problem in his knee, Theo Le Bris should return in late February from his thigh injury and their leading goalscorer Terem Moffi was loaned to Nice for the remainder of the campaign.
Jonathan Gradit rescued a point for Lens this past weekend, scoring his first of the season, seven minutes from the end, while goals from Wesley Said, Facundo Medina and Adrien Thomasson propelled them to a 3-1 victory over Brest in their round of 32 clash last month.
Brice Samba is second in Ligue 1 regarding clean sheets (nine), though backup goalkeeper Jean-Louis Leca has started both of their Coupe de France games this season.
Leca stopped one shot in a shutout victory against Linas-Montlhery, while a brace from Florian Sotoca helped power Les Sang et Or to a 5-2 win over Lorient earlier this season.
Wuilker Farinez and Jimmy Cabot are both out for the long-term with ACL issues, Adam Buksa remains sidelined because of a sprained ankle, Steven Fortes and Said are dealing with knee problems, while Massadio Haidara has a calf strain.
Lorient possible starting lineup:
Mannone; Kalulu, Meite, Talbi, Le Goff; Le Fee, Makengo; Faivre, Innocent, Dieng; Kone
Lens possible starting lineup:
Leca; Machado, Medina, Gradit, Danso; Costa, Fofana, Onana, Frankowski; Openda, Sotoca
We say: Lorient 0-1 Lens
Much of Lorient's domestic success this season centred around Moffi, and with the Nigerian off to Nice, we expect they will have a difficult time finding someone else to replace his quality in the attacking third.
Lens, meanwhile, are as tough to break down as any side in Ligue 1, conceding the fewest goals domestically thus far (16), and although their form has dropped a little, we anticipate they will frustrate Lorient and eventually find a breakthrough in transition.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
