Lens will welcome Toulouse to Stade Bollaert-Delelis this Friday in a 13th-round fixture of the 2022/23 Ligue 1 season.
Venue: Stade Bollaert-Delelis (Lens)
Key Statistics
Lens have won all their league games at home this season.
They have kept three clean sheets in their last three home games.
The hosts have lost just one league game this season (W8, D3).
They conceded only eight goals in the league this season. Only PSG (5) have conceded fewer goals.
Toulouse have dropped points in three of the six league matches in which they scored first this season (W3, D2, L1).
The visitors have won just one of their last 28 road trips in Ligue 1 (D7, L20).
Toulouse coach Philippe Montanier is unbeaten against his former employers Lens as a coach (W4, D4).
Head to head
Lens have won six of the last 15 competitive meetings between both sides. Toulouse have three wins in that period.
Latest performances in all competitions
Lens: W-W-L-W-D
Toulouse: D-W-D-W-W
Lens
Lens will look to continue their remarkable start to the season when they host Toulouse on Friday.
The hosts have enjoyed a sting start to the season having won eight of their opening 12 games while losing just once (D3).
Their most recent win was a 1-0 win over Marseille, taking them to second place on the league table, five points behind PSG.
After an impressive seventh-place finish last season, the hosts have kicked on under coach Franck Haise who praised his players’ “defensive performance” after that away win to Marseille on Sunday. Lens’ strong campaign has been fuelled by storing defensive performance as only once across their most recent 22 top-flight campaigns have they conceded so few goals (eight) after 12 rounds.
Apart from their defensive solidity, the Sang et Or have also made the Stade Bollaert-Delelis a fortress, boasting a 100% record this campaign (W6), a feat only one other club in Europe’s top five leagues (Manchester City) can match. After the most recent three produced a 1-0 scoreline, a fourth straight home clean sheet would be their longest in Ligue 1 since 2007.
Possible Lens starting line-up
Brice Samba; Massadio Haidara, Kevin Danso, Ismael Boura; P. Frankowski, Salis Abdul Samad, Jean Onana; Deiver Machado; Seko Fofana; Florian Sotoca, Loïs Openda.
Injured: Jonathan Gradit, Jimmy Cabot
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Facundo Medina
Toulouse
After narrowly missing out on a second league win on the bounce last time out, Toulouse will travel to Stade Bollaert-Delelis to get back to winning ways and also extend their unbeaten record to five games.
The visitors were on the cusp of securing two consecutive Ligue 1 wins for the first time since early 2018/19 last Sunday, but despite holding a 2-0 lead until the 65th minute against Strasbourg, they were forced to settle for a 2-2 home draw after suffering a late red card.
Manager Philippe Montanier described the result as “frustrating” as it meant that Toulouse have dropped points in three of the six league matches in which they scored first this season (W3, D2, L1).
The manager will be hoping his side can improve in their defence to avoid getting dragged further down the table.
The Violets’ biggest concern lies on the road though, with their 3-0 win at Troyes in their opening away game of 2022/23 being the only success across Toulouse’s previous 28 road trips in Ligue 1 (D7, L20).
They will be hoping to arrest that poor form when they face Montanier’s former club. The coach has a good record in this fixture, as he is unbeaten against his former employers as a coach (W4, D4)
Possible Toulouse starting line-up
Maxime Dupe; Mikkel Desler, Anthony Rouault, Moussa Diarra; Issiaga Sylla, Brecht Dejaegere, Stijn Spierings, B. van den; Zakaria Aboukhlal, Thijs Dallinga, Farès Chaïbi.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Rasmus Nicolaisen
Odds
| Lens to win | Draw | Toulouse to win | |
| Odds | 1.57 | 4.33 | 5.50 |
| Probability (%) | 61 | 22 | 17 |
Prediction
Lens 2-1 Toulouse
