Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Ligue 1 match.
Supporters of Lens and Lille do not care for each other, and the Derby du Nord is on the horizon. The forthcoming weekend in France will not revolve around Le Classique alone.
Lens
In the Ligue 1 standings, the hosts are currently below their opponents, sitting eighth, while the visitors occupy second. However, the team have had a tough opening schedule. Across the first four rounds they faced Olympique Lyonnais and Paris Saint-Germain. They did not hold up in either test: 0:1 and 0:2 respectively. They only managed to beat mid-table opposition in Stade Brestois 29 (3:1) and Le Havre (2:1), and those opponents are a different calibre to the leading sides. Therefore, the big question is whether the hosts can score against the visitors.
Lille
Scoring against Lille is certainly possible. Strangely enough, only AC Monaco failed to do so (1:0). The club were the only top-end opponent so far, and the first club to take points off the visitors was Stade Brestois 29 (3:3). Their second away game resulted in a comprehensive 7:1 win over Lorient. It is hard to break down Lille, conceding five from 5.47 xGA, so opponents need not only quality but also volume of chances.
Lens vs Lille Prediction
In the 2024/25 season, Lens did not score in either head-to-head: 0:2 at home and 0:1 away, and, with the league’s worst early finishing reflected by -4.33 xGDiff, set against the visitors at +2.36 xGDiff, we are backing Lille on a Draw No Bet.
