Lens vs Nantes

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Lens, aiming to extend their unbeaten streak to eight matches in all competitions, will face Nantes at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis for their upcoming Ligue 1 clash on Saturday. In their recent Champions League fixture, Franck Haise's team managed to secure a 1-1 draw against PSV Eindhoven after coming from behind. Meanwhile, Les Canaris secured a 2-0 victory against Montpellier HSC in their most recent top-tier match.

Maintaining an undefeated record in the Champions League since their return to European football's top tier, Lens once again faced a tough challenge against PSV in northern France. Johan Bakayoko's exceptional play led the Dutch team to take the lead in the second half, but their advantage lasted only 11 minutes. Elye Wahi, who had previously scored the winning goal against Arsenal, demonstrated his striking prowess with a well-placed finish at the near post to level the score.

Although the draw against PSV didn't keep Lens at the top of Group B, Arsenal's 2-1 victory over Sevilla allowed them to surpass Les Merlus. Despite a lackluster start to the season, Haise's team has certainly regained their winning touch.

However, Lens struggled to find a clinical edge in their recent 0-0 draw against Le Havre, particularly missing the suspended Wahi. With only nine points from as many Ligue 1 matches this season, last year's runners-up find themselves in a precarious 15th place.

Lens is separated from Metz, who occupy the relegation playoff position, by just one point. Notably, eight of the team's nine points in the top flight this season were earned in their last four matches. During this period, their defense has been increasingly solid, conceding only two goals.

Lens striker Wahi, who served a domestic suspension for receiving too many yellow cards, is back from suspension and is expected to start at the top of the attack in this match. Wahi's comeback is well-timed, as Wesley Said is out due to a thigh problem.

Their match against PSV hasn't raised any new worries. Deiver Machado played 82 minutes despite missing the match against Le Havre, thus the only three players out for the hosts are Wuilker Farinez, Jimmy Cabot, and David Costa, all of whom have leg problems.

In the event that Machado is not used this weekend, Haise may choose to start either Faitout Maouassa or Massadio Haidara; also, the head coach may decide to choose Adrien Thomasson over Angelo Fulgini for the final.

Speaking of strikers coming back from suspension, Mostafa Mohamed, Nantes' star striker, will be back to lead the line this week. The Egypt international has missed his team's past two games after receiving a red card in the team's defeat to Rennes.

With Mohamed back, Matthis Abline at the forefront of the Canaris attack might be in danger. Jean-Charles Castelletto, the center back, has also been suspended for a string of bookings and should be back in the middle of the defense.

Because of this, Marcus Coco will have to take a berth among the substitutes with Ronael Pierre-Gabriel, pushing Jean-Kevin Duverne to the right.

This weekend, Lens has the opportunity to extend their winning streak to eight games in all competitions. With one point separating them and the relegation spots going into this weekend, the runners-up in Ligue 1 from the previous season need to rediscover their clinical edge to keep themselves out of the drop zone. They need to get better than their last league game, which ended in a 0-0 draw with Le Havre.

Lens has looked strong in the Champions League despite their league status, as they overcame a goal deficit to hold Eredivisie leaders PSV on Tuesday night. Manager Frank Haise wants to return to Ligue 1 after leading them to victory in Europe.

Nantes defeated Montpellier 2-0 at home to keep up their stellar play. Les Canaries appeared to be a serious contender to descend to Ligue 2 this season after only missing out on promotion from Ligue 1 the previous year.

Nantes, who have won five of their past six games, are currently one point outside of the top four going into the weekend. Despite not winning any of their first four games of the new season, manager Pierre Aristouy's team is now moving up the standings. As of this writing, only Monaco (23) and Paris Saint-Germain (20) had scored more goals this season than 16 goals.

Nantes found their stride after a series of early-season losses, displaying their strength against Montpellier when they faced them at Stade de la Beaujoire last weekend. Although Michel Der Zakarian's team held out for 44 minutes, a defensive error proved costly. A mishit clearance from Benjamin Lecomte created an opportunity for Florent Mollet to score from a distance. Later, Moses Simon provided his fifth assist of the season, setting up Abdoul Kader Bamba to seal the victory in the 74th minute. This extended Nantes' recent excellent performance.

With four wins in their last five games, Nantes has seen a significant improvement in their results, with their only setback being a 3-1 defeat to Rennes. This remarkable turnaround has brought Nantes into European contention, placing them seventh in the standings, just one point behind the top four.

Only Monaco (23) and Paris Saint-Germain (20) have scored more goals than Pierre Aristouy's team, which has netted 16 times this season. By defeating Clermont and Strasbourg on the road, Nantes has already equaled their total number of away wins from the 2022-23 season.

Nantes won 3-1 in their most recent encounter with Lens during the Coupe de France quarter-finals in March. However, in last season's Ligue 1 fixture, Lens secured a 3-1 victory and has not lost to Nantes at home since their time in Ligue 2 during the 2012-13 season.