Lens and Clermont will both be aiming to bounce back from underwhelming results last weekend in Saturday's Ligue 1 showdown at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
Sang et Or were held to a 0-0 draw by Metz in their most recent outing, while the visitors went down 2-0 to fellow relegation candidates Lorient.
Match preview
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Even with Metz manager Frederic Antonetti serving a lengthy touchline ban for the visit of European-chasing Lens, Les Grenats - who remain in the bottom two of the division - gave their survival hopes a mini boost with a well-earned point last Sunday.
Kevin N'Doram and Fali Cande both went close for Metz but could not get the better of the recalled Wuilker Farinez in the Lens goal, while Franck Haise's side watched Arnaud Kalimuendo spurn a good opportunity with a shot that was always rising.
Starting off the month of March with no wins and no goals from two games has done Lens' European aspirations no favours whatsoever, and Sang et Or are now rank outsiders for a top-five finish, currently sitting ninth in the table and six points adrift of Strasbourg in the final continental spot.
Furthermore, with Lyon and Montpellier HSC breathing down their necks, Lens are at a very real risk of losing their grip on a top-half spot should their underwhelming run of form - which has seen them win just two of their last seven in the top flight - continue much longer.
Ironically, Lens have also won just two of their last seven Ligue 1 games at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis and have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last four in front of their own fans, so Clermont may sense an opportunity to derail Sang et Or's continental bid further here.
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Desperate to make home advantage count against a fellow relegation rival, Clermont's survival task became that little bit harder against Lorient, whose small crowd of travelling fans made their voices heard in a 2-0 win for Les Merlus at the Stade Gabriel-Montpied.
Lorient substitute Ibrahima Kone brilliantly shrugged off the challenge of Cedric Hountondji to fire home the first for Les Merlus in the 72nd minute, and Leo Petrot would add an unorthodox second with his chest not long to settle the contest.
As is the case with Lens, Clermont are also winless and goalless since the start of the month and are far from safe when it comes to the relegation dogfight - currently five points above the bottom two in 16th but just two clear of Saint-Etienne in the relegation playoff spot.
Only the hapless Bordeaux (41) have conceded more goals on the road than Pascal Gastien's side (29) in the current Ligue 1 season, and not since October 3 have Les Lanciers played out a draw away from home, but they would probably accept such a result at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
Clermont and Lens played out an entertaining 2-2 draw on Les Lanciers' turf back in December - the fourth stalemate from the last six meetings between the two sides - but not since 2018 have this week's visitors come up trumps against Sang et Or in any competition.
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Team News
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Lens wide man Przemyslaw Frankowski is back from a domestic ban served in the goalless stalemate with Metz, but centre-back Facundo Medina is now absent due to an accumulation of bookings.
Haise should call upon Christopher Wooh to deputise for Medina in Saturday's contest, and the hosting manager only has Corentin Jean (knee) and Wesley Said (muscle) to worry about on the injury front.
Haise does still have the option to rejig his attacking compartment even with Said and Jean sidelined, with Ignatius Ganago pining for the opportunity to lead the line. Jonathan Clauss is set to feature on the right after earning his first call-up to the France squad for the upcoming international break.
As for Clermont, Salis Abdul Samed must serve a second suspension this week after missing the Lorient defeat due to yellow card accumulation, with the midfielder now penalised for being sent off in the 4-0 loss to Lille earlier this month.
Jim Allevinah will miss out after testing positive for COVID-19, while Gastien also has question marks over the availability of Elbasan Rashani and Vital N'Simba due to injury.
Mohamed Bayo was dropped to the bench against Lorient amid concerns over a hip issue, but the attacker is reported to be feeling better and could displace Grejohn Kyei up front.
Lens possible starting lineup:
Farinez; Wooh, Danso, Gradit; Clauss, Fofana, Doucoure, Haidara; Kakuta; Sotoca, Ganago
Clermont possible starting lineup:
Djoco; Zedadka, Seidu, Hountondji, Mendy; Berthomier, Gastien, Magnin; Dossou, Bayo, Da Cunha
We say: Lens 2-0 Clermont
With Clermont dealing with some fresh injury concerns and failing to keep the back door shut away from home all season long, the stage is set for Lens to return to winning ways.
Haise's daunting defensive setup can quell a shot-shy Clermont attack on their own turf, and failure to keep Clauss quiet could prove fatal for Les Lanciers as Lens aim to keep their top-five hopes alive.
Top tip
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 57.91%. A draw had a probability of 23.2% and a win for Clermont had a probability of 18.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Lens win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.21%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.82%) and 2-1 (9.77%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.02%), while for a Clermont win it was 0-1 (6.22%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 5.8% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Lens would win this match.
