Lens can seal a top-two finish in the 2022-23 Ligue 1 season when they host already-relegated Ajaccio at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Saturday evening.

Franck Haise's men are on the cusp of automatic Champions League qualification courtesy of a 3-1 win over Lorient last weekend, while their doomed visitors were thumped 5-0 by Rennes last time out.

Match preview

Taking Lens from Ligue 2 to the Champions League in a mere four seasons, Haise - many people's picks for the Manager of the Year prize - deserves all the plaudits and more for his role in Les Sang et Or's meteoric rise, and his side are not out of the title picture heading into the penultimate weekend.

A defensive mix-up between Facundo Medina and Brice Samba from a throw-in allowed Romain Faivre to give Lorient the lead last weekend, but Les Merlus' own defensive mistakes were punished by Florian Sotoca, Adrien Thomasson and Seko Fofana at the Stade du Moustoir, where Lens celebrated confirming their rightful place in the top three.

Sitting six points below Paris Saint-Germain but five clear of Marseille, Lens' fleeting title ambitions will be extinguished if the champions take at least a point home from Strasbourg, but second place and an automatic route into the Champions League group stages will be theirs with an expected win in front of their own fans.

Victory at Lorient marked a ninth win from 10 games during a remarkable end-of-season hot streak for Lens, who have only been beaten by champions-elect PSG in that timeframe, and few sides across the continent can claim to have performed as well in front of the home crowd.

Indeed, Haise's men have only dropped five points at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis all season long, winning each of their last five on familiar territory, and only Premier League champions Manchester City (52) can better Lens' 49-point haul at home this season - few will expect Ajaccio to prevent Haise's men hitting the half-century mark themselves this weekend.

While Lens have left Ligue 2 behind, Ajaccio will soon be making a swift return to the doldrums of the second tier, with their relegation being confirmed in a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of PSG in gameweek 35 before an identical obliteration versus Rennes last weekend.

Amine Gouiri single-handedly taught Olivier Pantaloni's charges a footballing lesson with a scintillating hat-trick at the Stade Francois-Coty, while Jeremy Doku and Baptiste Santamaria also got in on the act, and a red card for Mickael Alphonse only rubbed salt into the wounds for the 10 men of Ajaccio.

Dropping back down to the second tier with a whimper, the 19th-placed visitors will at least avoid a last-placed finish in the top flight - that unwanted standing belongs to Angers - but they can only finish as high as 18th as they sit level on points with Troyes, not that it will mean much for their dejected supporters.

Now winless in 11 straight Ligue 1 contests and failing to score in their last five, Ajaccio must face Lens' fellow Champions League contenders Marseille in gameweek 38, and the curtain cannot come down quickly enough for Pantaloni's shot-shy crop, whose tally of 22 goals is by far and away the worst record in the division.

Therefore, it will come as no surprise to learn that Ajaccio failed to score in their meeting with Lens back in August, but Les Sang et Or did not bring their best shooting boots either and shook hands on a goalless stalemate with L'ours. Few will expect Pantaloni's rearguard to leave the Stade Bollaert-Delelis unscathed this weekend, though.

Team News

While Lens will welcome defender Kevin Danso straight back into the three-man rearguard from his one-game ban this weekend, the hosts have now lost wing-back Przemyslaw Frankowski to suspension owing to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Danso's return should force Jean Onana out of the team, while Sotoca might be drafted into a makeshift wing-back role to cover for the sidelined Frankowski, thereby allowing Angelo Fulgini to start in the final third.

Steven Fortes, Jimmy Cabot and Wuilker Farinez all remain in the treatment room with knee injuries, but none of the trio would be expected to force their way into Haise's settled setup; the hosting manager makes a league-low 1.5 changes to his starting XI per game.

Likewise, Ajaccio must also cope without a suspended full-back in Alphonse, whose two-game ban means that he has played for the last time this season, while Thomas Mangani also has another match to serve on the naughty step after seeing red against PSG.

As well as the banned duo, Pantaloni will not be able to call upon any of Romain Hamouma, Yoann Touzghar, Mounaim El Idrissy, Ismael Diallo or Youssouf Kone, but it is not all doom and gloom, as Francois-Joseph Sollacaro and Vincent Marchetti are fit again.

Should Sollacaro not be deemed 100% ready, though, Benjamin Leroy act as the last line of defence once more, while Cedric Avinel and Tony Strata will go head-to-head to deputise for Alphonse.

Lens possible starting lineup:
Samba; Medina, Danso, Gradit; Sotoca, Fofana, Abdul Samed, Machado; Fulgini, Thomasson; Openda

Ajaccio possible starting lineup:
Leroy; Youssouf, Vidal, Gonzalez, Avinel; Bayala, Coutadeur, Barreto, Spadanuda; Chegra, Soumano

We say: Lens 4-0 Ajaccio

With suspensions and injuries decimating their squad, Ajaccio need nothing short of a miracle to leave the Stade Bollaert-Delelis with anything to show for their efforts, and Haise's side will not be in any sort of merciful mood.

While we have faith in Pantaloni's men to avoid a third successive 5-0 defeat, a Lens side who often score for fun on their own turf should confirm a second-placed finish in style, with a few goals along the way.


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