Lens are set to play Premier League side Leicester City in a pre-season friendly at Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Saturday.
The home side finished seventh in Ligue 1 last term with 51 points from 34 games, while the visitors won the Championship with 97 points from 46 matches and were promoted to England’s top flight.
Match preview
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This is the hosts’ final pre-season game before they begin their 2024-25 Ligue 1 campaign away from home against Angers on August 18.
Lens will have been disappointed with their showing last term considering they finished second in 2022-23 with 84 points from 28 games.
Les Sang scored 45 goals and conceded 37 times last season, and this made them the division’s eighth-best offensive and fifth-best defensive team.
Manager Will Still joined Lens after leaving fellow Ligue 1 club Reims in June, where he achieved the longest unbeaten run in the club’s top-flight history when they went without defeat for 19 games between February 10 and March 12, 2023.
Still’s side have won four of their six pre-season games so far, including a 3-1 triumph against Versailles on August 7 last time out.
Lens also drew 2-2 with Bayer Leverkusen in their last home fixture on August 3, with Wesley Said and Jonathan Gradit scoring for the hosts.
![Wesley Said of RC Lens celebrates against Marseille on April 28, 2024 [on August 8, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/32/wesley-said.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Wesley Said of RC Lens celebrates against Marseille on April 28, 2024 [on August 8, 2024]")
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Saturday’s game will also be Leicester’s final match before they take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on August 19.
The visitors were relegated from England’s top flight in 2022-23 after they finished in 18th place, and while they will be disappointed that they lost seven of their last 14 Championship fixtures, they were still ultimately promoted.
The Foxes scored 89 goals and conceded 41 times in 2023-24, and these were the division’s second-best offensive and best defensive records respectively.
However, despite their strong showing in the Championship, the away side were forced to find a new manager after Enzo Maresca left to join Chelsea.
Former Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper was appointed in June 2024, and his side have won two and lost two pre-season friendlies so far.
Though Leicester won their final away game in the Championship against Preston North End on April 24, they lost the previous three.
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Team News
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The hosts could start newcomer Malang Sarr in defence alongside Kevin Danso and Facundo Medina.
Lens could also start Wesley Said in the forward line alongside striker Remy Labeau Lascary.
As for the visitors, Bobby Decordova-Reid could feature in midfield alongside Harry Winks and Wilfred Ndidi.
Elsewhere, Patson Daka could make an appearance as a striker for Leicester, flanked by Stephy Mavididi and Abdul Fatawu Issahaku.
Lens possible starting lineup:
Samba; Aguilar, Sarr, Danso, Medina, Chavez; Mendy, Fulgini, Thomasson; Said, Lascary
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Hermansen; Kristiansen, Vestergaard, Faes, Justin; Decordova-Reid, Winks, Ndidi; Issahaku, Daka, Mavididi
We say: Lens 2-1 Leicester City
If the hosts’ good form in their pre-season fixtures so far is anything to go by, then they should come into the clash as favourites.
Additionally, Lens will benefit from the presence of their home crowd, and this could help them achieve victory on Saturday.
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