On Tuesday, arch-rivals Lens and Lille meet at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in the last 32 of the Coupe de France.
The Derby du Nord foes are separated by just 32 kilometres in northern France, making this one of the fiercest rivalries in the country.
Time to put things right in the derby 😤#LOSC | 🔜 #RCLLOSC | #CDF pic.twitter.com/gYgN8kNSFR— LOSC (@LOSC_EN) January 2, 2022
Time to put things right in the derby 😤#LOSC | 🔜 #RCLLOSC | #CDF pic.twitter.com/gYgN8kNSFR
Funnily enough, the two sides also find themselves side by side in the Ligue 1 standings. Lens sit ninth, while Lille are one point and one place ahead.
Lens booked their place in the last 32 of the Coupe de France with a 1-0 victory over National 3 side Stade Poitevin last month.
However, it is worth pointing out that Lens haven’t won a Ligue 1 game since all the way back on November 5.
Lens headed into the winter break on a six-match winless streak in Ligue 1, having registered three draws and three losses since their last victory.
Lens made a strong start to the season, winning seven of their opening 13 league games. But it’s fair to say they took a turn for the worse before Christmas.
By contrast, Lille made a poor start to the campaign – winning just four of their first 12 Ligue 1 encounters.
Since then, however, the defending champions have turned things around. Indeed, they are currently enjoying a seven-game unbeaten streak in the league.
Lille picked up three wins and four draws before the winter break, reminding everyone that they are still a force to be reckoned with.
Last month, Lille secured a spot in the last 32 of the Coupe de France with a comfortable 3-1 win over Auxerre.
Head-to-head: Across all competitions, Lens have only managed to win one of their previous 11 meetings with Lille – suffering eight losses in the process.
That said, Lens beat Lille 1-0 back in September. It is important to remember that a lot has changed since then, however.
Team news: Lens will be without midfielder Mamadou Camara and left-back Deiver Machado on Tuesday as the pair continue to recover from injury.
On the flip side, Lille are missing USA forward Timothy Weah due to a muscle injury. Canadian forward Jonathan David has bagged 16 goals in 27 outings this term.
Due to the history between these two clubs, Tuesday’s clash is destined to be fiercely contested. With that in mind, a draw feels like the most probable outcome.
Forebet predicts that Lens and Lille will play out a low-scoring stalemate, with both teams scoring under 1.5 goals.