Preview: Strasbourg vs. Lens - prediction, team news, lineups

After suffering a stuttering Ligue 1 start, Hugo Oliveira hopes a return to the home comforts of Stade de la Meinau on Saturday facilitates an improved Strasbourg performance against Lens.

The Blue and Whites' 4-0 hammering at Marseille leaves them bottom of the table after one round, while Lens exploited Auxerre's red card to romp to a 5-2 victory to begin their campaign positively.

Match preview

The Oliveira regime in Alsace has not got off to a fine start, with Le Racing hammered 4-0 on matchday one.

Trailing 1-0 before Samir El Mourabet's sending-off on the hour, they collapsed in the final half-hour to suffer their heaviest top-flight loss since a 4-1 thrashing at Rennes last November.

Now seeking a response, the new manager will at least hope for much-needed discipline from his side for this weekend's clash, as Les Bleu et Blanc search for their first victory of the season at the second time of asking.

That aspiration, though, is diluted by their ongoing inability to keep a clean sheet, with 15 games having passed since Le RCS beat Mainz 05 4-0 in April's Conference League quarter-final.

The historical precedent too offers little encouragement, as Strasbourg have claimed just one win in the last seven meetings with this weekend's visitors, losing four during that time.

Those numbers should give Lens much encouragement heading into Saturday's encounter, even if Les Sang et Or have secured maximum points in just one of the last three meetings.

The current run follows a run of three triumphs in the previous four, playing out a 2-2 draw in the other match-up, to highlight their dominance of the side they travel to this weekend.

Further boosting their mood is a stunningly impressive goal-fest to beat Auxerre 5-2 last time out.

They were admittedly just 1-0 up until Christ Makosso's 35th-minute dismissal for a professional foul, but duly punished Auxerre with four second-half goals despite letting in two at the other end.

Hoping to see his side play as freely as they did on the opening weekend, Dino Toppmoller will back his players to continue their positive run that has witnessed three consecutive wins, including two in competitive encounters against Paris Saint-Germain in the Trophee des Champions and to start their Ligue 1 season.

Last season's runners-up have now lost just one 90-minute competitive match since April, a statistic that suggests that the Blood and Gold are set to compete again this season despite losing Pierre Sage to Crystal Palace in the summer.

Strasbourg Ligue 1 form:

Lens Ligue 1 form:

Lens form (all competitions):

Team News

El Mourabet will miss this weekend's game through suspension, while Joaquin Panichelli (knee) is anticipated to miss out this weekend.

However, Ben Chilwell (hamstring), Maxi Oyedele, Ismael Doukoure and Martial Godo (muscle) will all be assessed before the matchday two encounter.

Sekou Mara may have netted three goals in his final three appearances on loan at Auxerre last term, but he has yet to score for Strasbourg since returning for pre-season, a run he seeks to halt on Saturday.

Lens, though, have no such issues, even if Abdallah Sima could only assist one goal last time out; however, Franjo Ivanovic and Florian Thauvin, the latter of whom netted a brace and set up one, were significantly more decisive.

The visitors are still without the suspended Kyllian Antonio, while Jonathan Gradit (thigh), Jhoanner Chavez (thigh problems), Nidal Celik (knee) and Samson Baidoo (knee) are sidelined.

While the centre-back may ultimately be fit for the weekend, RCL are sweating over the seeming injury sustained by Ismaelo Ganiou last time out, though the withdrawal may have been precautionary.

Strasbourg possible starting lineup:

Jorgensen; Doue, Hogsberg, Omobamidele, Blanco; Lobao, Diop; Amo-Ameyaw, Reyna, Nanasi; Mara

Lens possible starting lineup:

Risser; Sagnan, Ganiou, Nawrocki; Abdulhamid, Titraoui, Cuisance, Udol; Thauvin, Ivanovic; Sima

We say: Strasbourg 1-2 Lens

Although Strasbourg will be desperate to offer an immediate response in front of their home supporters, their glaring defensive vulnerabilities and lengthy clean-sheet drought suggest a difficult afternoon awaits.

Toppmoller's confident side have more than enough final-third quality to claim all three points at Stade de la Meinau, and the visitors are tipped to edge proceedings on Saturday.

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