Lens vs Lyon prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2025-08-15 15:00.
[p]Two sides in the thick of last seasonās European battle meet on matchday one as Lens host Lyon, with both sides aiming to start their Ligue 1 campaign on the front foot.[/p]
[p]Match News and Current Form[/p]
[p]Lens, now under the stewardship of former Lyon boss Pierre Sage, fought hard but ultimately fell short last season in their race to secure European football and were forced to settle for eighth. Big money departures of key players like defender Kevin Danso have, on paper, weakened them, though they have moved swiftly to find replacements, making no less than ten summer signings. A pre-season that saw them suffer just one loss in seven friendly matches (W4, D2) should have boosted confidence for a positive start here.Ā [/p]
[p]Following a chaotic summer in which the club narrowly sidestepped administrative relegation, Lyon enter the new campaign looking to build a brighter future. They sacked Lensā current boss Sage in January after poor form, with Paulo Fonseca coming in to steady the ship and secure a sixth-place finish. Yet they have lost a number of key players in the summer too and replaced them with unproven talents, so replicating last seasonās finish looks a tall order, even if theyāve looked a decent outfit through pre-season (W4, D1, L1), particularly with Fonseca still in the middle of a nine-month touchline ban.Ā [/p]
[p]Head-to-Head History[/p]
[p]Lens have been the dominant side in recent meetings between these two, tasting defeat in just one of the previous seven Ligue 1 meetings (W4, D2). Lyon are actually without a win away to their hosts since 2015.[/p]
[p]Hot Stats and Streaks[/p]
[p]Lens have won just three of their last 14 opening matches of a Ligue 1 season (D4, L7) but have won two of the three most recent.[/p]
[p]Lens lost as many home games last season as in the previous three combined (eight).[/p]
[p]Lyon have failed to score more than once in four of their five visits to Lens since their promotion in 2020.Ā [/p]
[p]Lyon scored 21 goals in the last 15 minutes of their Ligue 1 matches last season, the joint-highest tally with PSG.Ā [/p]
[p]Key Players to Watch and Missing Players[/p]
[p]Lensā Adrien Thomasson, scorer in their final pre-season fixture against RB Leipzig, is often a thorn in the side of Lyon and has registered five assists against them – his most against any side. Lyon will hope new attacker Pavel Sulc can pick up where he left off, having registered four goal contributions in his last two matches for Viktoria PlzeÅ before his switch earlier this month.Ā [/p]
[p]Both sides come into this clash without any new major squad absences.Ā [/p]
[p]Betting Analysis[/p]
[p]With Lyon having off-field distractions and a poor record at this ground, backing a Lens win might be the wise move here.Ā [/p]
[p][i]Author: David H[/i][/p]