Soccer France Ligue 1 Prediction

Lens vs Strasbourg - Match Preview

⚽ 7 April 2023 - 19:00 GMT +0

“We had to make an impression," declared coach Frank Haise after Lens’ 1-0 win at Rennes on Sunday took their points tally to 60, consequently leaving them in contention to eclipse their club record total of 68 from 34 rounds in 1997/98 - the year of their only Ligue 1 title!! Starting this round six points away from league leaders PSG, the Blood and Gold would revive interest in the Ligue 1 title race with a win.

Fans may be forgiven for now dreaming of Lens’ first UEFA Champions League appearance since 2002/03, and the visit of Strasbourg should be an indicative test of their progress after seeing Lens win only one of the previous seven H2Hs (D2, L4). Performances at Stade Bollaert-Delelis could continue to be key to achieving that feat for Lens, considering they sit top of the Ligue 1 home standings (W12, D1, L1).

This is proving to be a torrid campaign for Strasbourg, who enter this game with just one wins from their previous five Ligue 1 matches (D2, L2), capped off by a bitter 4-3 defeat to Monaco last round. As a consequence, the Blue and Whites are looking anxiously over their shoulder as they find themselves out of the relegation zone on goal difference only, but coach Frédéric Antonetti remained positive when assessing that his side “destabilised Monaco" on Sunday.

Improving away performances could be the difference between relegation and safety for Strasbourg, for they currently sit in the bottom three of the Ligue 1 five-game away form standings (D2, L3). Antonetti’s recent H2H record might act as a source of inspiration after he lost just two of his last 14 personal clashes with Lens (W5, D7, L2).

📋 Players to watch: Florian Sotoca has led Lens to a home win in each of his three Ligue 1 goalscoring appearances while scoring first on each occasion. Aiming to eclipse him will be Habib Diallo, who has been Strasbourg’s last scorer in the last six top-flight matches he’s scored in.

⚡ Hot stat: Strasbourg (58%) is one of three Ligue 1 sides that have conceded more goals before the half-time break than after it.