Two sides locked in the bottom half of the French Ligue 1 standings will collide on Friday, as Le Havre and Lens both look for a return to winning ways. The visitors are likely to be favoured in the betting after going three without defeat before the international break.
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It has been a slow start to the 2023-24 Ligue 1 season for Lens, as they remain locked in the bottom half of the standings. However, their form was showing signs of improvement before the international break, as they went three without a defeat. A third win in four matches on Friday could see them end the round in the top half of the standings.
Lens bounced back after losing four of their opening five matches this term by winning back-to-back matches. However, they weren’t able to land a third straight victory before the break in play, as they were held to a draw by Lille. Lens struck back late in that home match, with Deiver Machado scoring the equalising goal with just 20 minutes remaining on the clock.
Le Havre currently sit a place and a point higher than their rivals coming into the resumption, as they have won two of their opening eight matches. They have lost just three times this term, which is one fewer than the number of defeats suffered by their rivals on Friday night.
A victory for the hosts could see them move into the top half of the standings, but they come into this showdown after losing each of their previous two before the international break. The most recent of those was a damning 3-0 loss on the road against Marseille. However, they were forced to play the entirety of the second half of that match with ten men following Rassoul Ndiaye’s red card.
Le Havre vs Lens Head to Head
This will be the first league meeting between the sides since a 0-0 draw in Ligue 2 in January 2020. Le Havre has a solid record in this fixture, as they are unbeaten in their last seven competitive matches against Lens.
Le Havre vs Lens Prediction
The record of the hosts in this fixture is extremely impressive, and it could be worth siding with their dominance in the head-to-head. Therefore, we could see the hosts landing a victory against their illustrious rivals on Friday.
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