Lens vs Paris Saint-Germain

Paris Saint-Germain’s Ligue 1 title defense continues at Estadio Bollaert-Delelis against last season’s runners-up Lens.

Lens’ bid to whittle down a substantial gap on third-placed Monaco took a hit on the stroke of the winter break as a 2-0 defeat away to Nice knocked them down from an 11-game unbeaten Ligue 1 run (W7, D4). With seven points separating them from the last Champions League qualification spot, Franck Heise’s men can’t afford another slip-up. Yet, they experienced a false start to 2024, exiting the Coupe de France on penalties to Monaco (2-2). That result marked the end of Lens’ five-match winning streak at Estadio Bollaert-Delelis across all competitions. After losing a competitive home game for the first time since September, ‘Les Sang et Or’ are determined to get back on track against a PSG side they held winless in their last three H2Hs at this stadium (W2, D1).

In the meantime, Paris Saint-Germain had a field day in their opening Coupe de France fixture, thumping lower-league Revel 9-0 shortly after a dominant 2-0 victory against Toulouse in the Trophée des Champions at the start of the new calendar year. A flawless form in 2024 has extended PSG’s impressive form in all competitions to just one loss from their last 16 games (W12, D3). However, ‘Les Parisens’ can’t afford to take anything for granted as they bid to get the new calendar year off to a winning start after enduring a winless start in the last four (D3, L1). Ominously, Lens put them to the sword in their opening Ligue 1 fixture of 2023, thumping them 3-1 at this venue. But it’s worth noting Luis Enrique’s men have yet to lose a league game on the road this term (W5, D3).