On Sunday, Lens return to Stade Bollaert-Delelis with a chance to end their season-long four-game winless run in Ligue 1 when they take on Nantes.
A 2-1 loss at Lyon last Sunday dropped Les Sang et Or down to fourth in the table, a point back of Monaco for third, while La Maison Jaune are 13th following a 1-0 victory over Lorient last weekend.
Match preview
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It has been a challenging month for Franck Haise and his side, with Lens earning just a single point in their previous three domestic affairs.
That slide has them eight points behind Paris Saint-Germain for the league lead but just one back off a place in the Champions League qualifying round next season.
Throughout the 2022-23 domestic campaign, Lens have been at their best on home soil, winning 10 of their last 11 matches played there, though they lost the previous one, 1-0, versus Nice.
They have not won any of their last five encounters versus Nantes in Ligue 1 but are unbeaten in seven consecutive top-flight meetings against them at home.
Lens have given up the opening goal in every one of their last four domestic encounters and have not won a Ligue 1 contest when conceding first since a 2-1 win over Clermont last November.
For much of the campaign, they have been calm and composed along the backline, conceding the fewest goals in Ligue 1 to this point of the season (18).
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After a difficult start this month, losing 2-0 at home to Marseille, Les Canaris have settled down and are in much better form, unbeaten in four consecutive matches in all competitions.
Antoine Kombouare's men have not lost away from home in eight successive games in all competitions and have not conceded in their last four league contests on the road.
In total, La Maison Jaune have collected six clean sheets in Ligue 1 this year, more than any side in the top five European leagues, with Marseille being the only French club to score against them in 2023.
Nantes have not conceded multiple goals in a competitive road fixture since they were beaten 3-0 by Rennes last October.
Over the past two weeks, we have seen them react well when going behind, levelling their match against Angers at the Coupe de France before winning on penalties, and then on Thursday answering a Dusan Vlahovic goal in the 13th minute with an equaliser on the hour mark as they drew Juventus in the opening leg of their Europa League tie on Thursday (1-1).
A victory on Sunday would extend their winning run in the league to three matches, which would also be the longest such streak for them domestically this season.
Team News
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Wuilker Farinez and Jimmy Cabot are both out long-term for Lens with ACL injuries, while Adam Buksa has a sore ankle.
Alexis Claude-Maurice has a meniscus injury which will keep him sidelined until March, while Steven Fortes and Wesley Said are dealing with knee issues.
Deiver Machado had their only goal last weekend in a losing effort versus Lyon, while Brice Samba made four saves to help his side draw Nantes 0-0 earlier in the campaign as the Lens keeper has nine clean sheets in Ligue 1 this season, tied for second in the league behind Gianluigi Donnarumma of PSG.
Les Canaris will be missing Quentin Merlin because of a sore groin, Ignatius Ganago is out for a few more weeks for personal reasons and Andy Delort is dealing with a knee injury.
Ludovic Blas has scored in two consecutive matches in all competitions, notching the equalising goal against Juventus in the Europa League, while he was the only player to find the back of the net when they defeated Lorient last weekend in a match where Alban Lafont made five stops, drawing even with Samba for second in the league regarding clean sheets (nine).
In their previous visit to Stade Bollaert-Delelis last season, a brace from Moses Simon gave the visitors a 2-0 lead after 32 minutes before David Costa and former striker Arnaud Kalimuendo responded for Lens in the second half as the match ended 2-2.
Lens possible starting lineup:
Samba; Gradit, Danso, Medina; Frankowski, Fofana, Abdul Samed, Machado; Onana, Thomasson; Sotoca
Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lafont; Centonze, Castelletto, Girotto, Hadjam; Moutoussamy, Chirivella; Simon, Mollet, Blas; Mohamed
We say: Lens 0-0 Nantes
Neither side have much urgency to move the ball up the field quickly, and with two teams who are calculated in their approach and very well-organised, we expect to see a stalemate with chances at a premium.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
