Sevilla vs Lens prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-09-19 19:00.
Under pressure manager José Luis Mendilibar will be hoping Sevilla have kickstarted their season after finally registering a first victory of the campaign. Debutant Dodi Lukébakio netted the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Las Palmas on Sunday, ending a run of four successive defeats across all competitions and leading the boss to state the result “should help us to improve.”
Supporters will certainly be hoping that victory is a turning point for their side as they prepare to get their 2023/24 UEFA Champions League (UCL) campaign underway. However, if history is anything to go by, the group stages of Europe’s premier competition will just be a precursor for the Europa League, a competition which Sevilla have won a record seven times – including last season, when they dropped into the tournament after finishing third in their UCL group.
Hoping to take advantage of Sevilla’s woes are visitors Lens, who themselves are enduring a torrid start to the campaign. A 1-0 defeat at home to Metz on Sunday means they have picked up just one point from five games this season (D1, L4), hardly the kind of form they would want ahead of a first UCL campaign since 2002/03.
Manager Franck Haise insists that last year’s Ligue 1 runners-up will find their touch again, stating that he “believes” in his players. Supporters would be forgiven for having a little less confidence in them doing so, given the Blood and Gold have lost their three away fixtures this season, conceding exactly three goals on each occasion.
Players to watch: Seven of Youssef En-Nesyri’s last eight goals for Sevilla have been the first or last of the game. Looking to out-score him may be visiting forward Florian Sotoca, who has lost just one of the last 15 games in which he has netted (W11, D3).
Hot stat: There have been three or more goals in seven of Sevilla’s last nine home UCL matches.