Lens take on the visitors Nantes in the round 33 match of French Ligue 1. The match will be played on Friday, May 8th at Stade Bollaert-Delelis (Lens).
Lens spent many years stuck in France’s second division. But after returning to the top flight, they even managed to become runners-up in Ligue 1. Then came a decline, and last season they even lost the battle for a European qualification place. This year, however, Lens unexpectedly managed to go toe-to-toe with Paris Saint-Germain FC, occasionally overtaking them and climbing to the top of the table — although the favorites themselves dropped points surprisingly often. Lens have looked especially sharp offensively in recent home fixtures, regularly scoring multiple goals against quality opposition. Their consistency throughout spring has also been impressive, as the team rarely loses control of matches even under pressure. Still, against recent opponents Stade Brestois 29 and OGC Nice, they had to settle for high-scoring draws, which seemingly ended their realistic title hopes. Yet the club’s ambitions were not limited to the league: after eliminating, among others, Olympique Lyonnais on penalties following a 2-2 draw and then crushing Toulouse FC 4-1 in the semi-final, Lens booked their place in the domestic cup final.
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Nantes may at least try to finish the season with some dignity. “The Canaries” are a historic club, no less prestigious than their current opponents. But in recent years, very little has gone right, and even simply securing survival in Ligue 1 was considered a decent achievement. That was the case last season, when 36 points were enough for 16th place. This campaign, however, almost nothing worked properly. Nantes have at least become harder to beat recently, especially against teams from the lower half of the table. Their defensive organization has improved somewhat in recent weeks, even if victories still remain rare. Experienced coach Vahid Halilhodžić arrived and managed to stop the constant defeats during spring — but by then the club desperately needed wins, while the underdogs mostly collected draws, even against fellow strugglers FC Metz. Only in the most recent round, against Olympique de Marseille, did Nantes finally deliver a real statement result — and they did so in emphatic fashion with a 3-0 victory.
After three consecutive wins by Lens, “Les Sang et Or” finally lost this fixture in February of last year. But in December they secured a 2-1 away victory. Neither side really has major tournament objectives left at this stage. Still, the clearly stronger club is playing at home, so backing Lens to win with a -1 goal handicap looks like the right choice.
Prediction for the match: Lens to win with -1.0 handicap.
