Lyon still sit just one point above Lens, after a weekend victory made it four wins from their last five outings.
Lens
Lens remain in contention for a top-three finish, after a three-goal salvo in the opening half-hour of their last match saw them start the new week just six points away from the third spot. While this game against Lyon promises to be a tougher challenge on paper, Lens’ last home clean sheet against top-half opposition dates back only to January. That will give this impressive Lens squad hope of another success, as they look to etch their name in the club’s history books alongside the Lens side of 2001/02 that finished in second place – behind Lyon of all teams! They are certainly proving themselves capable of deadly offensives at any time this campaign, as their 39 league goals to date are split almost evenly across both halves.
Lyon
Though this season’s title is surely gone, Lyon can still mark the 20th anniversary of the club’s very first top-flight triumph in style, as they aim to elongate their current run of six straight top-four finishes in completed Ligue 1 seasons. They still sit just one point above Lens, after a weekend victory made it four wins from their last five outings. It was only by virtue of a final day win over Lens that Lyon stole the 2001/02 title, and the Olympians’ H2H league record since that fateful clash. Within that, their more recent Ligue 1 trips to the Estadio Bollaert-Delelis have proven action-packed, with the last five to be won either way seeing a 2 goal margin.
Gael Kakuta boasts a 75 per cent win-rate from Lens games to feature a first-half goal for him, after scoring from the spot in the 22nd minute last weekend. Challenging him for the limelight will be Karl Toko-Ekambi, who netted for Lyon against Nice last weekend, for his third straight goal to arrive after half-time. All but one of Lyon’s last 14 top-flight H2H wins have seen them keep a first-half clean sheet.