Ligue 1 2022-23: Lens vs AS Monaco: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

The race for the Champions League spots hinges on this crucial clash.

One week since coming up short in their top-of-the-table showdown with Paris Saint-Germain, Lens face another pivotal podium clash against Monaco at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Saturday night. Franck Haise's 10 men were put to the sword 3-1 by PSG last week, while Les Monegasques' furthered their Champions League ambitions by beating Lorient by the same scoreline.

With Marseille doing what they needed to do against Troyes, Lens can no longer proudly claim to be the best of the rest - having been knocked down to third place in the table, nine points behind the runaway Parisiens - and defeat on Saturday would force them out of the Champions League places entirely.

Lens' tally of 11 goals shipped at home is also the best defensive record of its kind in the division, but a Monaco side who pride themselves on attacking supremacy will prove a stern test to their Champions League credentials, as Philippe Clement's side continues to fire in front of goal.

Having seen their Europa League hopes crash and burn at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen, Monaco who currently sit fourth must push for a top-three finish to return to Europe's top tier, and victory over Lens on Saturday. For all of their hosts' stellar work at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Monaco has a taste for points on the road - going unbeaten in each of their last nine away from home and scoring at least twice in 11 of their last 12 Ligue 1 contests on rival turf.

Kick-Off:

Sunday, 23-04-2023, 12:30 AM(IST)

Saturday, 22-04-2023, 7:00 PM(GMT)

Lens Form (All Competitions): D-W-W-W-W-L

AS Monaco Form (All Competitions): D-L-W-W-D-W

Players to Watch Out

Lens: Luis Openda

The young Belgian forward has been dominating the scoring charts for Lens with 15 goals to his credit. The hotshot has already smashed home a hat-trick when he bludgeoned home all three goals during a 3-0 routing of Toulouse back in October. What made his individual performance even more aesthetically pleasing was the fact the Belgian was only introduced onto the field in the 56th minute. He is a poacher inside the box and his clinical finishing is his big strength.

AS Monaco: Youssouf Fofana

At 6ft Fofana knows how strong he can be on the ball and this season he has been maximising it. He’s not an immobile presence though, adept at shimmying opposition pressures away.  He’s also adopted more of a senior role in this Monaco team, having been there for two and a half seasons and surprisingly being the second oldest midfielder in the squad. Many big clubs in Europe will be looking forward to having him on their team.

Match Facts

Lens are without a clean sheet in 3 meetings.

AS Monaco are without a clean sheet in 4 meetings.

Injury and Team News for Lens vs AS Monaco

Lens lynchpin Abdul Samed must serve a three-game ban for his red card-worthy challenge on Hakimi last weekend, Steven Fortes and Julien Le Cardinal both remain in the treatment room with knee injuries, while Adam Buksa's ankle problem is still giving him grief, but the Pole would have had little chance of displacing Lois Openda anyway.

Regarding Monaco, Clement had to make do without all of Ruben Aguilar (groin), Breel Embolo (knee) and Malang Sarr (groin) for the victory over Lorient, but Clement has revealed that Embolo's recovery is progressing quicker than expected as he fights to return before the end of the month. Gelson Martins was once again absent from the squad last weekend due to personal reasons, and it is unclear if the Portuguese will be back in contention here, but Diatta and Golovin have surely done enough to hold their spots out wide.

Head-to-Head Stats

Matches: 20

Lens: 4

Monaco: 8

Draws: 8

Predicted Lineups

Lens Predicted Lineups(3-4-2-1):

Samba; Medina, Danso, Gradit; Frankowski, Fofana, Onana, Haidara; Sotoca, Thomasson; Openda

Monaco Predicted Lineup(4-4-2):

Nubel; Vanderson, Maripan, Disasi, Henrique; Diatta, Fofana, Camara, Golovin; Ben Yedder, Volland

Match Prediction for Lens vs Monaco

There is no doubt in our minds that Saturday's contest should live up to the billing, with Lens proving to be a near-unbreakable force at home while Monaco finds the back of the net for fun on the road. Lens must win this game to have any chance of qualifying for Europe. Clement's defence is not the most watertight, though, and one year on from the sides playing out a 2-2 draw at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, we can envisage an identical four-goal stalemate between two attack-minded outfits, as Haise's side retain their grip on third place for the time being.

Prediction: Lens 2-2 Monaco

Telecast

India: Voot, Viacom 18 network

UK: BT Sport

USA: beIN Sport

Nigeria: SuperSport