Clermont vs Lens prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2023-03-11 12:00.
Manager Pascal Gastien believes Clermont can finally stop looking over their shoulder after ending their long winless run of the campaign. A 1-0 victory over Toulouse last weekend means the Lancers, who had lost three of their previous six games (D3) and scored just one goal in the process, finished matchday 26 a dozen points clear of the relegation zone, leading the boss to confidently claim his team “shouldn't worry about what's going on behind.”
Avoiding the drop would signal another good campaign for Clermont, who have already equalled their total of nine league wins from their debut Ligue 1 campaign last season. With aspirations to better their 17th-place finish from that season, they could give that aim a shot in the arm by improving their form at Stade Gabriel Montpied where they have won just one of their last eight fixtures (D3, L4).
Recent history suggests a home victory is unlikely this weekend though, especially as visitors Lens have lost just two of the last 16 H2H meetings across all competitions (W5, D9). However the Blood and Gold have hit a slump in recent weeks, with their unlikely title hunt now seemingly dead in the water after a run of one win in seven league outings (D4, L2).
The most recent of those games was a 1-1 draw with Lille, the third straight competitive fixture in which Franck Haise’s side scored first but failed to win (D2, L1). The manager blamed a “physical decline” from his players for their sluggish second-half display, so he may look to rotate his squad after a busy spell of 14 matches since the start of 2023 (W6, D5, L3).
Key battle: Johan Gastien, who made his return from a near two-month injury lay-off during Clermont’s win over Toulouse, has never lost at home to Lens (W1, D6). The midfielder may come face-to-face with Blood and Gold captain Seko Fofana, who netted the winner when these two met in November, one of eight victories in the 14 Ligue 1 games in which he has scored (D6).
Hot stat: Clermont have scored just six first-half goals this season, the lowest total in Ligue 1.