Lens will endeavour to boost their hopes of European qualification when Brest pay a visit to the Stade Bollaert-Delelis for Saturday's Ligue 1 showdown.

Sang et Or ran out 2-1 winners at Angers last time out, while Michel Der Zakarian's side fell to a disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to Lorient.

Match preview

A trio of extraordinary goals told the story of Angers' encounter with Lens at the Stade Raymond Kopa last week, with Les Scoistes breaking the deadlock just before the break through Angelo Fulgini's thunderbolt before Franck Haise's side came storming back.

Some inexplicably shaky goalkeeping from Danijel Petkovic led to a goalmouth panic and ultimately ended with the ball being deflected into the back of the net off Batista Mendy from Ismael Traore's attempted clearance, and Jonathan Clauss's cross-cum-shot three minutes later settled the tie.

Lens have now reignited their European charge with seven points from the last nine on offer in Ligue 1 - a run of form which has seen Sang et Or reclaim sixth spot in the table - and only three points separate Haise's side from Strasbourg and Rennes in the European places.

Proving as much of a surprise package this season as they did in 2020-21, Lens are certainly showing that the previous campaign was no fluke, and the home crowd seldom leave the Stade Bollaert-Delelis without seeing their side claim at least a point.

Indeed, Lens have lost just one of their last nine top-flight matches on familiar territory and also have friendly fixtures with Metz and Clermont to look forward to in the coming weeks, so the hosts sure have found the right time to hit a rich vein of form.

There were no such spectacular goals on show at the Stade Francis Le-Ble during Brest's battle with Lorient in gameweek 26, but after Brendan Chardonnet was sent off on the stroke of the half-hour mark, Les Merlus took advantage in somewhat messy fashion.

The 10 men of Brest were sunk by a scrappy Ibrahima Kone goal in the 73rd minute of the contest as their streak of inconsistency continued, but as far as their league fortunes are concerned, there is not much for Les Pirates to fight for.

Indeed, Der Zakarian's side continue to languish in mid-table obscurity in 12th place - 10 points clear of the drop zone and 11 adrift of challenging for a European spot - so the only realistic aim for Les Pirates heading into the business end of the season is a top-half push.

However, with five points separating them from 11th-placed Montpellier HSC, clambering into the top 10 will be a difficult ask for this Brest outfit, especially seeing as they have failed to win any of their last five away from home in all tournaments.

Then again, Brest humbled Lens in a 4-0 thrashing during their meeting at the Stade Francis Le-Ble back in November and have not failed to score in their last three Ligue 1 meetings with Sang et Or, who did claim a 2-1 win at home in the 2020-21 season.

Team News

Lens boss Haise only has one definite absentee for this game in the form of Corentin Jean, but the hosting manager has affirmed that the striker will return from his knee operation before the end of the season.

Fellow forward Wesley Said remains uncertain due to a muscular issue, while Przemyslaw Frankowski has picked up a fresh problem since the Angers win and is also touch-and-go for the contest.

Haise will likely see no reason to fix what is not broken, with Ignatius Ganago restricted to minutes from the bench as Arnaud Kalimuendo continues in the attack.

Meanwhile, Brest centre-back Chardonnet has been slapped with a two-game ban following his red card against Lorient, so Jean-Kevin Duverne could switch to a central position as Julien Faussurier comes back in on the right.

Sebastien Cibois and Ronael Pierre-Gabriel are expected to be the only two injury-related absentees for the visitors, who have bountiful options for attacking change after last weekend's disappointing showing.

Youcef Belaili was sacrificed for Jere Uronen after Chardonnet's red card in that game and will hope for another opportunity here, but Steve Mounie and Jeremy Le Douaron could challenge Martin Satriano for a spot up front.

Lens possible starting lineup:
Leca; Medina, Danso, Gradit; Clauss, Fofana, Doucoure, Haidara; Kakuta; Sotoca, Kalimuendo

Brest possible starting lineup:
Bizot; Faussurier, Duverne, Herelle, Brassier; Belkebla, Magnetti; Del Castillo, Belaili, Honorat; Satriano

We say: Lens 2-0 Brest

Whether Lens have the wherewithal to sustain a European charge for the entirety of the season remains to be seen, but Haise's side are well-stocked and resilient if nothing else in front of their own fans.

Brest's inconsistency - and especially their poor form on the road - continues to hamper their top-half aspirations, and we can only picture Sang et Or emerging victorious on Saturday.

Previews by email