Preview: Reims vs. Lens - prediction, team news, lineups

Les rouges et blancs suffered a 2-0 defeat to Lorient last weekend, dropping them down to ninth in the table, while Lens are behind Lille on goal difference for the final spot in Europe following a 3-1 victory over Strasbourg.

Match preview

It has been a challenging month for Will Still's men, going from a side in contention for a place in Europe to one struggling to remain in the top half of the table.

After conceding just one goal in three Ligue 1 affairs before February, Reims gave up five in their last two games, one more than they allowed in their five combined matches before this month began.

The club from the Champagne region in France are unbeaten in their last 11 competitive fixtures when scoring the opening goal.

Their current three-match winless run is the longest stretch for them without a Ligue 1 triumph and just one fewer than their longest streak without a victory under Still.

Reims have yet to earn a home triumph against a side above them in the Ligue 1 table this season and would match their longest top-flight winless run at home under Still (three) should they fail to triumph on Sunday.

Since returning to Ligue 1 in 2018-19, Reims have yet to earn a domestic victory versus Lens and have not beaten them at home in the French top-flight since the 1976-77 season (2-1).

From one side who have been steadily declining, we have Lens, who have been slowly but surely climbing up the table, winning three successive league fixtures.

Franck Haise's men have conceded just a single goal in their previous four matches in all competitions, including a 0-0 draw at home to Freiburg in the opening leg of their Europa League knockout phase tie on Thursday.

Lens began the 2023-24 campaign with three successive away defeats in this competition but have claimed at least a point in seven of their previous eight domestic affairs as the visitors since then.

To this point of the domestic campaign, they have only suffered one defeat versus a side currently below them in the table, losing 3-0 at Metz last September.

Les Sang et Or are currently in sixth on 35 points and under the three points for a win era, they have always finished in a top-five position when having at least that many points after 21 matchdays.

They have conceded the opening goal in three of their previous four top-flight encounters versus Reims but have come back to earn a result each time, claiming two victories over that stretch.

Reims Ligue 1 form:

L

W

W

D

L

L

Reims form (all competitions):

W

W

L

D

L

L

Lens Ligue 1 form:

W

L

L

W

W

W

Lens form (all competitions):

L

L

W

W

W

D

Team News

Maxime Busi is dealing with a thigh injury for Reims, Valentin Atangana has a hamstring strain and Thibault De Smet is out due to a yellow card suspension.

After missing some time with an ankle injury, Marshall Munetsi has featured in consecutive league contests, playing the full 90 minutes against Lorient for the first time this year, and Sergio Akieme has started at left-back in their previous two league contests, his first two starts ever in this competition.

Jimmy Cabot has an ACL issue, and Deiver Machado is still dealing with a groin injury, with both Lens players expected to be out until late February.

David Costa has scored in three successive league contests as he, Elye Wahi and Florian Sotoca each netted in their triumph over Strasbourg.

Reims possible starting lineup:

Diouf; Foket, Agbadou, Abdelhamid, Akieme; Munetsi, Richardson, Teuma; Ito, Daramy, Nakamura

Lens possible starting lineup:

Samba; Gradit, Danso, Medina; Aguilar, El Aynaoui, Fulgini, Frankowski; Costa; Sotoca, Wahi

We say: Reims 1-1 Lens

While Lens have had the better of Reims in recent fixtures, they have never beaten them on three successive occasions in the top-flight, and with a relatively healthy squad, we expect a much better showing from the home side this weekend.

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