A fading Lens outfit welcome under-fire Antoine Kombouare's Nantes side to the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Ligue 1 on Saturday.

Will Still has seen his Lens side lose back-to-back games, while former Lens boss Kombouare is in as much danger as any manager in the French top flight of losing his job at present.

Match preview

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After bursting onto the scene at Reims, Still's stock had continued to rise in his early days at Lens this season, as the Blood and Gold went eight games unbeaten to start the season.

However, things have slightly unravelled of late, with plenty of misfortune contributing to their consecutive defeats over the past two weeks.

A dubious late penalty saw Lille come to the Bollaert-Delelis and take all three points, before Lens travelled to the capital and lost 1-0 to Paris Saint-Germain last week, with Abdukodir Khusanov's red card on the hour mark putting the game beyond them.

That leaves Lens on the brink of creating unwanted history here, as they have not lost three straight Ligue 1 games since returning to the top flight in 2020, and after falling four points adrift of the top four and into seventh, another underwhelming result here could be even more costly.

Still's pragmatic approach has worked to an extent, as they have now kept five clean sheets in seven home games, but Lens have not scored a goal at home since August, and remain the only club still on double figures for both goals scored and conceded.

Wing-back Przemyslaw Frankowski remains their top scorer with just two goals, and coming alive at the critical points of matches has been lacking, because Lens have not scored a second-half goal here so far this season.

One positive for the home support to cling onto is that Nantes have proven favourable opponents to Lens in recent times, having won three meetings in a row in Ligue 1, including a 4-0 success at this venue last season.

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Any repeat of that could see Nantes boss Kombouare heading closer to the exit door, as they have taken just three points from their last seven games.

Heading into September's international break earlier this season, Nantes were up near the top with seven points from their opening three matches, but they have rapidly plummeted down the standings, and are now only outside the relegation on goal difference, above Angers and Saint-Etienne.

This worrying run began with disappointing results against Reims, Angers and Saint-Etienne, which saw the Canaries take just two points, and games have only gotten tougher, with defeats to Strasbourg and Marseille not ideal preparation for this one.

Hanging onto leads has been their Achilles' heel, with nine points dropped from winning positions the highest of any team in Ligue 1.

Team News

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Lens will be able to welcome Facundo Medina back from suspension, and the Argentine will likely take the place of Uzbek defender Khusanov, who was sent off at PSG last week.

Striker M'Bala Nzola is also suspended here due to an accumulation of yellow cards, and with Wesley Said also out injured, David Pereira da Costa could be drafted in as part of a reshuffled frontline.

Elsewhere on an ever-growing injury list for Lens, Angelo Fulgini, Martin Satriano, Jimmy Cabot and Ruben Aguilar are also absent for the hosts.

Nathan Zeze's late yellow card in the defeat at Strasbourg means he will miss this game through suspension, but that will not force Kombouare's hand, as the 19-year-old was left on the bench last week.

Johann Lepenant was also booked late on in that defeat, but then sustained a calf injury and missed the home loss to Marseille last time out, joining Fabien Centonze on the sidelines.

Lens possible starting lineup:
Samba; Gradit, Danso, Medina; Frankowski, Diouf, Thomasson, Jhoanner Chavez; Pereira da Costa, Zaroury, Sotoca

Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lafont; Coco, Castelletto, Pallois, Cozza; Pedro Chirivella, Douglas Augusto; Thomas, Kadewere, Simon; Mohamed

We say: Lens 0-0 Nantes

Lens have been very strong at the back, but offer little threat in attack, and that could be costly here in a game they are expected to win.

Kombouare is under pressure, but has only lost one of his 12 matches against his former employers as a manager, and while an elusive win may be beyond them, they could take something here against a feeble Lens side.


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Written by
Andrew Delaney

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