Lens vs Arsenal prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-10-02 19:00.
Lens began their return to the UEFA Champions League (UCL) after a 21-year absence by leaving Seville with an all-important point (1-1), which should boost their confidence ahead of this meeting with Group B favourites Arsenal. The Lensois, who hadn't won a single match in this 2023/24 season up until that point (D2, L4), won their following two Ligue 1 fixtures, and Frank Haise’s men will hope to capitalise on that momentum to deliver a strong performance here.
The UCL anthem will echo around the Stade Bollaert-Delelis for the first time since 2002, where the Blood et Gold have lost just once in this competition (W3, D2). Some longtime fans may remember that one of those two draws occurred against Arsenal (1-1) during the 1998/99 edition, although the English side got their revenge here with a 2-1 victory the following season in the UEFA Cup.
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta is wary of Lens' resurgence in form, anticipating “a really tough away match” even after his team's convincing 4-0 victory over Bournemouth on Saturday. The Gunners also secured a 4-0 win against PSV Eindhoven in their first UCL match since 2016/17, marking their ninth consecutive UCL group-stage match without defeat (W7, D2).
Playing away from home shouldn’t bother Arteta's men as they have won all four of their competitive road trips this campaign (W4) without conceding a single goal! The Gunners were also drawn in groups alongside French clubs in four of their last six UCL campaigns, and they were denied three points away from home only once (W3, D1), although none of those games were settled by a multiple-goal margin.
Players to watch: After celebrating his first goal for Lens against Strasbourg last weekend (1-0), Elye Wahi has led his team to victory in seven of his last nine goalscoring appearances (L2). Aiming to eclipse him will be Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus, who was the final scorer of the match in three of the last four group stage UCL games he scored in.
Hot streak: Arsenal’s last ten UCL matches all saw the opening goal scored in the first 20 minutes.