Following an eye-catching victory over Paris Saint-Germain on New Year's Day, Lens will look to further narrow the gap to top spot in the Ligue 1 table on Wednesday, when they make the trip to take on Strasbourg.
A 3-1 beating of the league leaders saw Franck Haise's side move within four points of the summit and they come into Wednesday's contest on the back of a Coupe de France victory, while their hosts lost in a penalty shootout in their tie on Friday.
Match preview
© Reuters
Strasbourg head into Wednesday's contest with Lens in desperate need of a positive result in their first game without Julien Stephan at the helm, as they find themselves 19th in Ligue 1 having only won one game in France's top flight so far this season.
That triumph came in early October, and Le Racing have only managed three points in seven outings since, having been unable to turn their form around since the return from the World Cup break despite a number of resilient performances.
They firstly travelled to take on league leaders Paris Saint-Germain after Christmas and were only denied a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw by a penalty deep into injury time, as Kylian Mbappe converted from the spot to snatch all three points for their hosts, before they aimed to bounce back at home to Troyes in the New Year.
After going 2-0 down, Le Racing drew level through Habib Diallo and Ismael Doukoure, but they would come away empty-handed again as Xavier Chavalerin netted the decisive goal 10 minutes from time, and following an exit from the Coupe de France at the hands of Angers in a penalty shootout after a goalless stalemate on Friday, Stephan's time at the helm was put to an end.
Now on the search for a permanent manager and four points adrift of safety, having only collected 11 from their opening 17 matches, Strasbourg will be desperate to make a return to winning ways on Wednesday but face a particularly tough test against one of Ligue 1's form sides.
© Reuters
Lens will make the trip with plenty of confidence, having put themselves within four points of the top of the table with an eye-catching run of form, winning six of their last seven Ligue 1 matches and drawing the other.
Following an unbeaten start to the campaign, Les Sang et Or suffered a narrow defeat at Lille in October, and they have not lost in the French top flight again since, firstly beating Montpellier, Marseille, Toulouse, Angers and Clermont going into the World Cup break.
Franck Haise's side returned to action with a trip to Nice, but they were only able to add a point to their tally following a goalless draw, dropping seven points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain as a result, before they faced the tough test of a contest at home to Les Parisiens in their last league outing.
Przemyslaw Frankowski gave Lens an early lead in that game, and after Hugo Ekitike quickly drew the visitors level, Lois Openda restored Les Sang et Or's advantage on the half-hour mark and Alexis Claude Maurice added a third early in the second half to seal a memorable victory and reduce the deficit back to four points at the top of the league.
Now on the back of a 2-0 Coupe de France win over Linas-Montlhery, with Seko Fofana and Florian Sotoca on the scoresheet, Haise's men will aim to heap more pressure on the defending champions with a 13th league win of the term in what has been an eye-catching season as we approach the halfway mark.
Team News
© Reuters
Experienced French forward Kevin Gameiro, who has netted five Ligue 1 goals so far this term, will be pushing to come back in from the outset on Wednesday, after he was reduced to a substitute appearance last time out, with Ludovic Ajorque preferred in the front two.
Whoever is deployed will join star man Habib Diallo, who hit his seventh league goal of the season in the defeat to Troyes after notching up 11 in the French top flight last time around.
In the continued absence of Maxime Le Marchand, Gerzino Nyamsi should again join Alexander Djiku in the middle of the defence, with Sanjin Prcic and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde set to play important roles at the base of midfield.
Lens should come into the game with the same XI that started in their impressive victory over Paris Saint-Germain, with Facundo Medina, Kevin Danso and Jonathan Gradit again set to line up in a back three.
Their line will be spearheaded by summer arrival Lois Openda, who hit his eighth league goal of the season in that triumph, with support from Alexis Claude Maurice and Florian Sotoca, who has contributed six goals and six assists in Ligue 1 this campaign.
Seko Fofana remains a key man in the engine room, and he will again feature alongside Salis Abdul Samed, who has played in every minute of top-flight action so far this season, as has Danso at the back and Brice Samba between the sticks.
Strasbourg possible starting lineup:
Sels; Doukoure, Djiku, Nyamsi, Perrin; Bellegarde, Prcic, Diarra; Thomasson; Diallo, Gameiro
Lens possible starting lineup:
Samba; Medina, Danso, Gradit; Frankowski, Fofana, Samed, Haidara; Sotoca, Openda, Maurice
We say: Strasbourg 0-2 Lens
The two sides are in totally contrasting runs of form, and we can only envisage another victory for the second-placed side who are at the top of their game against a Strasbourg team who have managed just one league win all season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
