Lens vs Lille Prediction: Lens are formidable at home

Lens and Lille battle in the 26th round of the French Ligue 1 at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis stadium. Lens come into this match following a 1-1 draw away at Montpellier, while Lille returned to winning ways against Stade de Brestois last weekend. Lens are on course to challenge for a top 4 finish in this campaign and they will want to keep the momentum in this match and Lille are ambitious about an Europa Conference League spot at the very least, but they too need to keep winning to close the 4 point difference between them and Rennes in 5th.

Lens have not been in stable form as many expect them to be. Their form in the last 5 matches was 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. Their last game ended in a 1-1 draw against Montpellier in the Stade de la Mosson. Angelo Fulgini opened the scoring just 4 minutes into the game, however Lens were unable to keep the lead, as the hosts equalized in the 59th minute. Stats shows that Lens are without a clean sheet in 8 matches. In 5/7 matches, there has been less than 2.5 goals scored and in 5/5 matches, both teams have scored. In 7/8 matches, less than 4.5 cards were shown and there were less than 10.5 corners in 5/6 matches. RC Lens are currently in 4th place after 14 wins, 8 draws and 3 loses in 25 matches. And on home soil, Lens are the second-best team in the league, with 33 points from 12 matches. They won 11 and lost just 1 match at home this season.

Lille have not been able to maintain a stable form, as record shows that in their last 5 matches, they had 3 wins and 2 losses. They responded positively after the 4-3 defeat to PSG, by winning Stade Brestois 2-1 on home ground. Things didn’t start too well for Lille, as Tiago Djalo scored an own goal to give the visitors the lead in the 8th minute. Lile failed to respond in the first half, but they finally got the reward for their efforts, as Bafode Diakite leveled in the 60th minute. The hosts doubled their lead in the 80th minute from an Alexandro Ribeiro strike. Stats shows that there has been more than 2.5 goals scored in 4/5 matches and both teams scored in those games. Lille have also conceded first in 4/5 matches and also lost the first half in that time. Lille are in 6th place, and 2 points away from 5th place Rennes. They have 44 points, from 13 wins, 5 draws and 7 defeats in 25 matches. Away from home, Lille have picked up 17 points from 12 matches. They had 5 wins, 2 draws and 5 losses away from home.

Lens and Lille are familiar opponents,as both clubs have faced each other 20 times. Lille have won 11 of those meetings, while Lens have won just 4 and 5 matches ended in a draw.

Lens have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 3 matches against Lille. In 5/7 matches, more than 2.5 goals were scored and Less than 10.5 corners played at the same time.

Lens and Lille have the capacity to play an exciting game. They both know each other and are in dire need of points to achieve their objectives. Lens are very tight at home, which makes me believe Lille will have a tough job breaking them down. Lens are also looking for all 3 points and that looks more likely considering they are the better side and their form at home is excellent. Nevertheless, we won't rule out any upsets in this match.

• Bet on Lens Win or Draw and Over 1.5 Goals at 1.98 Odds
• Bet on Over 2 Goals at 1.76 Odds
• Bet on Both Teams to Score at 1.69 Odds