Lens vs Monaco

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Lens could secure their spot in the Coupe de France's last 32 for the fourth consecutive time by triumphing over Monaco in the third round, hosted at Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Sunday.

Last season, Les Sang et Or reached the tournament's quarter-finals, only to lose 2-1 to Nantes. Meanwhile, Monaco faced an unexpected loss to Rodez, a Ligue 2 side, in the third round, exiting after a 7-6 penalty shootout.

Despite Lens ending 2023 on a sour note with a 2-0 loss against Nice, the team is carrying substantial optimism into the New Year, securing points in 11 of their last 12 matches against French opponents. Franck Haise's squad, sitting just two points shy of a European spot for the next season, amassed 26 points in 17 league fixtures.

Lens has a commendable nine-match unbeaten streak at home across all competitions, winning five consecutive competitive games at Stade Bollaert-Delelis. Their third-round defeats have been scarce since 2018-19, with Lens losing only once in their last eight home games in the Coupe de France since the 2015-16 season (a 4-2 loss to Monaco in 2021-22).

They've shown strength when scoring the opening goal, winning their last five competitive matches. However, their only loss this season after scoring first was against Brest (3-2 in August 2023).

Lens has a favorable record against Monaco, with just one defeat in their last four home encounters. Notably, they secured a 3-0 victory in their previous Ligue 1 clash at Stade Bollaert-Delelis last season.

Following a 5-2 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in November, Monaco ended 2023 with consecutive 2-1 away victories, the latest against Toulouse in December.

Monaco has a strong track record in the Coupe de France, winning seven of their last nine away games and avoiding defeat in third-round fixtures as visitors since 2011-12.

This season, Monaco has been prolific, scoring the second-highest number of goals in Ligue 1 (33) and consistently netting multiple times in their recent Coupe de France matches.

Although Monaco hasn't won three of their last four trips to Stade Bollaert-Delelis, they've never lost to Lens in this competition, dominating them 12-2 in aggregate across four encounters.

Lens' team faces injury concerns, with Wuilker Farinez returning to training but Jimmy Cabot out until mid-January due to ACL injuries. Deiver Machado, Jonathan Gradit, and Nampalys Mendy also have injury doubts for Lens.

Monaco is dealing with their own injury troubles, with Eliesse Ben Seghir struggling with a shoulder strain, Eliot Matazo likely unavailable due to a muscle problem, and Mohamed Camara nursing a thigh injury.

Despite several players being sidelined, Monaco acquired Thilo Kehrer on loan from West Ham for the season. Aleksandr Golovin can play despite receiving a red card in their previous Ligue 1 game against Toulouse.

Wissam Ben Yedder has been in fine form, scoring twice in their win over Toulouse, taking his Ligue 1 tally to eight goals. However, Folarin Balogun has yet to score in his last four domestic games.

Monaco, currently third in Ligue 1 with 33 points, has shown substantial improvement compared to the previous season. Under Adi Hutter's guidance, the team has avoided consecutive defeats this season, unlike their previous performance under Philippe Clement.