Montpellier vs Lens prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2023-02-24 20:00.
Two successive Ligue 1 victories against relegation rivals Brest and Troyes has helped put some crucial daylight between Montpellier and the bottom four. They come into this round seven points clear of the drop zone and with confidence growing under manager Michel Der Zakarian who returned to the club earlier this month. Both of those recent wins were accompanied by clean sheets, handing Montpellier consecutive Ligue 1 wins in such a manner for the first time since August.
With the growing positivity around Stade de la Mosson, it’s no wonder Zakarian revealed in an interview with the club’s media how “happy” he was to be back. He’d surely love another win without reply here, especially as that is becoming a strength of Montpellier’s this season, highlighted by six of their eight league wins being accompanied by a clean sheet. Yet, while the home side also secured a shutout in the last H2H held here (1-0), they did concede 2+ goals in the four prior home clashes between the two sides (D2, L2).
Lens overcame their longest winless Ligue 1 run of the season (D2, L2) with a 3-1 home win over Nantes last weekend, just about keeping alive their lofty ambitions of securing a first league title since 1997/98. They head into the gameweek fourth and eight points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain, meaning securing the crown seems unlikely. However, they are just a point behind the Champions League places and have a real shot at gaining a spot in Europe’s premier competition.
Their success this season has been built on strong defensive foundations. Coming into the weekend, only six sides from across Europe’s top five leagues had conceded fewer goals than Lens (19), and crucially all of those six have played fewer games. That’s not always been enough to inspire victories on the road though and they’re without one in five Ligue 1 outings (D4, L1).
Key battle: The tussle in midfield has added interest in this game as Montpellier midfielder Téji Savanier (65) has suffered the joint-most fouls coming into the round while Lens’ Salis Abdul Samed has committed the most (55)!
Hot stat: Montpellier have scored five Ligue 1 goals beyond the 90th minute, a league-high.