Lens welcome Strasbourg to the Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Saturday evening, with the visitors looking to build on an emphatic victory last time out.
Les Coureurs demolished basement side Nimes in midweek to put some daylight between themselves and the bottom three and will be hoping it is the start of a good run of form.
Match preview
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Franck Haise's men were narrowly defeated away at league leaders Lyon on Tuesday night thanks to a Memphis Depay brace.
That result extended Lens' inconsistent form of late that has seen them win three and lose three of their last six matches.
Despite this being the Sang et Ors' first season back in the top flight after winning promotion in 2019-20, they are currently sitting in a lofty eighth position, just five points behind Rennes in the final Champions League spot with a game in hand.
Former Chelsea midfielder Gael Kakuta has been instrumental so far this season, with the Frenchman's seven goals and four assists firing Lens up the Ligue 1 table.
If Haise's side are to continue on their quest for European football in the next campaign, the 29-year-old will be central to their fortunes.
Strasbourg responded to being thrashed by Paris Saint-Germain by handing out a drubbing of their own in midweek.
The convincing 5-0 victory over Nimes lifted them four points above Dijon, who currently occupy the relegation playoff place.
Scoring goals has not been an issue for Thierry Laurey's men this season, with their 27 efforts bettering the attacking records of both Rennes and Marseille, who sit in fourth and fifth position, respectively.
Keeping them out, on the other hand, has been a real issue for Strasbourg. Thirty-two goals conceded in just 18 games means Les Coureurs have the third-worst defensive record in the division.
Lens Ligue 1 form: WLWLWL
Strasbourg Ligue 1 form: WDWLLW
Team News
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Right-back Cheick Traore remains on the sidelines for Lens following a ruptured Achilles tendon. He is joined by fellow defender Facundo Medina, who is struggling with a knee problem.
Haise is unlikely to make too many changes following a good performance last time out, meaning Ignatius Ganago could be set to lead the line alongside Florian Sotoca once again.
Abdul Majeed Waris came off the bench to score a 90th-minute penalty against Nimes, and the forward could be rewarded with a place in the starting lineup this time around.
Several stars remain on the treatment table for Laurey, though, with Bingourou Kamara, Lamine Kone, Idriss Saadi, Lebo Mothiba and Matz Sels all unlikely to feature.
Lens possible starting lineup:
Leca; Gradit, Bade, Fortes; Clauss, Doucoure, Fofana, Boura; Kakuta; Sotoca, Ganago
Strasbourg possible starting lineup:
Kawashima; Caci, Simakan, Djiku, Lala; Aholou, Sissoko, Bellegarde, Thomasson; Ajorque, Diallo
We say: Lens 3-2 Strasbourg
Lens have responded to their last three defeats with victory and we expect them to repeat the trick over the weekend.
Strasbourg games usually involve a lot of goals and they could be on the wrong end of another high scoring affair when they travel to northern France.
Top betting tip
George Cannon
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Lens win with a probability of 46.85%. A win for Strasbourg had a probability of 27.06% and a draw had a probability of 26.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Lens win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.73%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.15%) and 2-0 (8.66%). The likeliest Strasbourg win was 0-1 (8.39%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.38%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with an 8.4% likelihood.
