Preview: Lens vs. Saint-Etienne - prediction, team news, lineups

Lens play host to Saint-Etienne on Sunday afternoon looking to build on their opening-day draw at Ligue 1 rivals Rennes.

Meanwhile, Saint-Etienne are coming off the back of a comeback draw with Lorient, leading to calls for improvement ahead of their visit to Estadio Bollaert-Delelis.

Match preview

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Having narrowly missed out on qualification for the UEFA Conference League last season, Lens head into this campaign feeling a mixture of disappointment and extra motivation.

Franck Haise's squad, competing in their first season back in the French top flight, probably deserved to end the season in the top six, but a poor finish ultimately proved pivotal.

On the plus side, there is renewed optimism going forward, particularly having won the race to sign Austrian centre-back Kevin Danso and secured a permanent deal for Gael Kakuta.

While it was Seko Fofana who got on the scoresheet at Rennes, Danso and Kakuta could make or break whether Lens are able to enjoy another year competing at the right end of the table.

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As far as Saint-Etienne are concerned, there will be those who feel that Claude Puel is fortunate to still be in the dugout after just 24 wins from 71 matches.

However, the club's board have opted for stability over change as they bid to at least match their 11th position from the previous campaign.

Being held to a 1-1 draw by Lorient was not the ideal start for a team who must square off against champions Lille and Marseille before the end of the month.

Nevertheless, with Paris Saint-Germain the only side to net more than twice against them in nine competitive games, the foundations are there if Saint-Etienne can rediscover their touch in the final third.

Puel has witnessed his players fail to score from open play for seven halves of football in succession.

Team News

After posting a respectable point at Rennes, Haise could stick with the same Lens XI for this contest.

However, he made full use of his substitutes with Florian Sotoca and Przemyslaw Frankowski both in contention for a recall.

Puel is expected to make at least one alteration to his Saint-Etienne with Romain Hamouna in line for an outing in the final third.

Arnaud Nordin, fresh off his appearances at the Olympics, could also feature on the right-hand side of midfield.

Lens possible starting lineup:
Leca; Fortes, Wooh, Boura; Clauss, Doucoure, Fofana, Machado; Kakuta; Banza, Ganago

Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:
Green; Macon, Moukoudi, Nade, Kolodziejczak; Nordin, Camara, Youssouf, Bouanga; Khazri; Hamouna

We say: Lens 2-1 Saint-Etienne

Both teams have ambitions of challenging for European qualification this season, upping the stakes even at this early stages of the campaign. While Saint-Etienne are well equipped to claim a share of the spoils, we are backing Lens to battle their way to a narrow win.