Only the goals scored column is separating Lens and Lille in the top half of the Ligue 1 standings heading into Saturday night's showdown at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
Bruno Genesio's side return to domestic action on the back of a magnificent 3-1 Champions League win over Atletico Madrid, while their hosts ended a run of draws by beating Saint-Etienne 2-0 last weekend.
Match preview
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Haunting two Madrid mammoths in the space of a few weeks, Lille proved that their astonishing beating of Real Madrid on Champions League matchday two was no fluke by repeating the trick against their city rivals Atletico at the Wanda Metropolitano in midweek.
An eighth-minute Julian Alvarez goal was not a sign of things to come for Diego Simeone's side, who succumbed to a Jonathan David brace and a curling effort from his fellow substitute Edon Zhegrova as Lille took another huge step towards the knockout rounds.
Atletico had every right to feel a bit hard done by - two of Lille's goals took significant deflections and the other was a controversially-awarded David penalty - but the manner of the goals did not put any sort of dampener on Les Dogues' wild celebrations in the Spanish capital.
On a hot streak of form both continentally and domestically, the 2020-21 Ligue 1 champions are now unbeaten in six matches across all competitions and claimed a creditable goalless draw away to title-challenging Monaco in Ligue 1 last weekend, leaving them fourth in the rankings.
Not since the end of the 2022-23 campaign have Lille failed to find the back of the net in two straight Ligue 1 games, and a record of just one conceded from their last three on the road in all tournaments stands the Madrid conquerors in very good stead indeed.
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Unable to forge their own path into Europe this season, losing to Panathinaikos in the Conference League qualifiers over the summer, Lens have - to an extent - benefitted from the absence of continental football as they chase a top-four finish in 2024-25.
Will Still's team are just one of three Ligue 1 teams still unbeaten after eight games alongside Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco, but only three of those contests have ended in victory for Les Sang et Or, who have been the stalemate specialists with five draws to their name already.
Between September 1 and October 6, Lens shared the spoils with Monaco, Lyon, Rennes, Nice and Strasbourg before finally snapping their sequence of stalemates at Saint-Etienne last weekend, where Przemyslaw Frankowski and Remy Labeau Lascary netted either side of the break.
Stretching back to last season, the fifth-placed hosts are now without defeat in 11 consecutive Ligue 1 matches since April's defeat at Marseille, and five of the last six teams to visit the Stade Bollaert-Delelis have failed to score past a sturdy Lens defence.
The theme of draws is also apparent in Lens and Lille's recent head-to-head history, as the last two contests on Les Sang et Or's turf have ended 1-1, but Les Dogues have come up trumps in their last two home games and are therefore on a four-match unbeaten run against Saturday's hosts.
Team News
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Lille's memorable beating of Atletico in midweek did not come without sacrifice, as creative hub Remy Cabella was taken off in the 16th minute with a suspected thigh problem, adding to Genesio's unenviable injury crisis.
The Dogues head coach is also missing Samuel Umtiti (knee), Ethan Mbappe (thigh), Ismaily (knee), Nabil Bentaleb (heart), Hakon Arnar Haraldsson (foot), Tiago Santos (ACL), Mitchel Bakker (muscle) and Ayyoub Bouaddi (calf), making their feats in Madrid all the more commendable, although the latter has a slim chance of being back.
Cabella's loss should be Zhegrova's gain up front, while David will surely steal Mohamed Bayo's spot at the tip of the attack, and new England international Angel Gomes is in line for a midfield recall too.
Lens are not in a terrific position fitness-wise either, as Deiver Machado (thigh), Martin Satriano (ACL), Jimmy Cabot (knee), Neil El Aynaoui (muscle), Herve Koffi (back), Sidi Bane (hamstring) and Ruben Aguilar (shoulder) are all out of contention for this one.
Still's side came through the beating of Saint-Etienne without any fresh concerns to take into account, though, and 21-year-old Lascary should be in the reckoning for a start after coming off the bench to score his first Ligue 1 goal last weekend.
Long-serving veteran Florian Sotoca has been a cornerstone of the Lens attack during their rise to stardom, but his spot is by no means secure - the 33-year-old is without a goal or assist in the Ligue 1 campaign so far.
Lens possible starting lineup:
Samba; Danso, Medina, Khusanov; Frankowski, Diouf, Thomasson, Chavez; Fulgini; Sotoca, Nzola
Lille possible starting lineup:
Chevalier; Alexsandro, Mandi, Diakite; Meunier, Gomes, Andre, Gudmundsson; Zhegrova, David, Sahraoui
We say: Lens 1-1 Lille
Lens have not managed to find the back of the net in their last two Ligue 1 home games, but facing a leggy and injury-ravaged Lille side might be the hosts' ticket to halting that toothless streak in front of goal.
However, one trend we cannot see ending is the hosts' propensity to play out draws, as Genesio's men have been steadily building momentum over the past few weeks and should be good enough to avoid defeat.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
