Lorient vs Lens prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2023-11-03 16:00.
Lorient's hopes of securing back-to-back Ligue 1 victories for the first time in six months were dashed after their 1-0 loss to Reims last weekend. Head coach RĂ©gis Le Bris made no secret of his frustration after the game, with the result leaving them with a meagre one-point buffer from the bottom three ahead of the round – a situation not helped by the growing list of injuries the boss has to deal with.
You never quite know what you’re going to get from Lorient at the Stade du Moustoir, where the Merlus have gained a reputation for standing up to strong teams and letting their guard down against weaker ones. Indeed, Lorient have claimed points in each of their four home Ligue 1 matches against teams currently in the top half of the standings (W2, D2), whilst losing 3-0 to Montpellier who were deep in the bottom half at the time. It’ll therefore be fascinating to see where they can settle against mid-table Lens.
After a pair of Ligue 1 draws, Lens responded well with a resounding 4-0 victory against Nantes last weekend to extend their unbeaten streak to eight matches across all competitions (W4, D4). With this victory, Franck Haise entered the Lens record books by becoming only the fourth coach in club history to accumulate 60 top-flight wins!
Sitting in tenth ahead of the round, the Blood and Gold were separated from both the top six and the relegation play-off spot by just three points, illustrating the tightly contested nature of the Ligue 1 table this season. They’ll be keen to continue their upward trajectory here, and the fact Lens have avoided defeat in five of their previous six road trips to Lorient (W3, D2), including a 3-1 win in the corresponding fixture last season, should boost belief of doing so.
Players to watch: Romain Faivre will be one to watch after scoring five goals in Lorient's last seven home Ligue 1 games, including one against Lens in May. Aiming to eclipse him will be Lens’ Elye Wahi, who recorded each of his seven previous league goals on the road.
Hot stat: Since the beginning of last season, Lens have lost just two of the 17 Ligue 1 away games they started as pre-match favourites (W6, D9).