Lens take on the visitors Nice in the final match of Coupe de France. The match will be played on Friday, May 22nd at Stade de France (Paris - Saint-Denis).
Lens spent a long time in the second division before finally breaking out and surprising everyone by finishing as runners-up and putting together a respectable Champions League campaign. Last season, however, was far more modest, as the club sold off talent and eventually finished only 8th. Now Pierre Sage is in charge, and he has done a solid job of reinforcing his reputation as a strong manager. Up until spring, his side were not just competing with PSG, but actually staying ahead of them at times. Their consistency over the bulk of the campaign has been one of the most impressive stories in Ligue 1, especially given expectations at the start of the season. Even when results began to dip, Lens still looked far more organized and competitive than most of their domestic rivals. It was only in April that they effectively accepted 2nd place, beginning to drop points more regularly. In the cup, though, they managed to get past every opponent, including Lyon. And in the semi-finals, they completely brushed Toulouse aside with an emphatic 4-1 victory.
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Nice can only save their reputation here. Les Aiglons remain an ambitious club under their current ownership. A year ago, they finally turned those ambitions into a tangible result by finishing 4th in Ligue 1 after a tightly contested campaign. But then came a dramatic decline. It all began with two defeats to Benfica in the very first Champions League qualifying round. Their Europa League campaign also turned into a failure soon after. Nice have at least shown some resilience in recent weeks, grinding out results where earlier in the season they would likely have collapsed. Still, their overall form remains fragile, and confidence does not appear fully restored despite avoiding the worst-case scenario. By that point, though, international competitions had become secondary, as the club found itself dragged into a relegation battle at home. It cannot be said that the winter appointment of the experienced Puel brought any dramatic turnaround, but at least they stopped losing in April. In the end, they avoided direct relegation, though a difficult playoff clash with Saint-Étienne still awaits. In the cup, however, without facing top-level opposition until late on, they reached the semi-finals and produced a surprise, comfortably beating a motivated and capable Strasbourg side 2-0.
Les Aiglons had been unbeaten in this fixture for six matches. But this season, in Ligue 1, they managed to take just one point from Lens: a 0-2 away defeat followed by a 1-1 draw at home, the latter coming in May. It is hard to find much intrigue here. Lens have clearly been the stronger and more stable side throughout the season, while Nice still look emotionally and physically stretched. Les Sang et Or should be winning this one.
Prediction for the match: Lens to win.
