Lens vs Lille Preview & Prediction | 2024-25 French Ligue 1
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We have the Derby du Nord in the French top-flight this weekend as Will Still leads his still unbeaten Lens side into this one against their arch regional rivals Lille off the back of another famous result in the UEFA Champions League.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Saturday 26th October, 2024 - UK – 8:00pm / US ET – 3:00pm / US PT – 12:00pm
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – Not televised / US – beIN Sports
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – Ligue 1 pass / US – beIN Sports
LENS PREVIEW: GETTING A BETTER LOOK AT LENS
Over the summer, Lens lost coach Franck Haise to Nice after they had significantly overperformed the last few seasons. They replaced him with former Stade de Reims coach Will Still and have started the 2024/25 season steadily despite their elimination in the UEFA Europa Conference League at the playoff round stage in August.
In their opening eight matches of the Ligue 1 campaign, they are one of three unbeaten sides alongside Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco. The northerners come into this one on the back of their third win of the campaign as they defeated Saint-Etienne by two goals to nil last weekend with goals from Przemyslaw Frankowski and Remy Labeau Lascary.
LILLE PREVIEW: LILLE’S FAMOUS NIGHTS
Paulo Fonseca departed for AC Milan this summer with former Stade Rennais and Olympique Lyonnais boss Bruno Genesio replaced him in charge of Lille. They have had a really bright start to the campaign with just three defeats in their 13 matches across all competitions as they once again challenge towards the top end of the Ligue 1 table.
They begin this weekend’s round of fixtures sitting in the top four domestically but it has been a really impressive few weeks in the UEFA Champions League that has caught the eye. They defeated Real Madrid a few weeks ago in Lille before coming from behind at the Metropolitano in Madrid to beat Atletico Madrid by three goals to one.
LENS TEAM NEWS: SEVERAL ISSUES
Lens are dealing with several injury issues for this weekend’s derby with key men all unavailable, too, such as goalkeeper Herve Koffi and defender Ruben Aguilar.
Still has stuck with the three-at-the-back system that was successful under Haise but the likes of Neil El Aynaoui and Martin Satriano are both sidelined, too.
PREDICTED XI (3-4-2-1): Samba; Khusanov, Danso, Medina; Frankowski, Thomasson, Diouf, Jhoanner Chavez; Sotoca, Fulgini; Nzola
UNAVAILABLE: Koffi (Injured), Deiver Machado (Injured), Aguilar (Injured), Bane (Injured), El Aynaoui (Injured), Cabot (Injured), Satriano (Injured), Ojediran (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
LILLE TEAM NEWS: KEY INJURIES
Much like Lens, Lille are also dealing with several absentees for this weekend with key man Iceland international Hakon Haraldsson still missing for the hosts.
As well as Haraldsson, Lille remain without the likes of Ismaily and Tiago Santos as well as Mitchell Bakker. Former Newcastle United man Remy Cabella is also a doubt for this one.
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Chevalier; Meunier, Diakite, Alexsandro, Gudmundsson; Ang. Gomes, And. Gomes; Zhegrova, Cabella, Sahraoui; David
UNAVAILABLE: Umtiti (Injured), Ismaily (Injured), Santos (Injured), Bakker (Injured), Bouaddi (Injured), Bentaleb (Illness), Haraldsson (Injured), Mbappe (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE: Cabella (Injured)
LENS VS LILLE PREDICTION
Will Still has gained a reputation for being quite a proactive and progressive coach but it was a reactive and counter-attacking style that saw Reims pretty much underperform last year and they have been defensively rigid again this year to remain unbeaten but pick up just three victories. They face a Lille side that will be fatigued from their game against Atletico in midweek and that could well lead to a slower paced game that suits both sides with few clear cut chances in a tense affair.
LENS VS LILLE TIP: UNDER 2.5 GOALS
