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The final day of February features seven games in France’s Ligue 1, and one of them sees Angers welcome Lens to the Stade Raymond Kopa.
A recent slump has seen Angers drop into 11th place, while Lens are still flying high in fifth.
Angers will be determined to get back to form by defeating their opponents on Sunday, but Lens will aim to continue their strong run.
Angers vs Lens Head-to-Head
After an excellent run saw them climb as high as seventh in early 2021, Angers have slipped pretty badly in recent weeks.
Stephane Moulin’s side have now picked up just one win in their last eight league games, and even that came over strugglers Nimes.
Angers have simply not been scoring enough goals recently, finding the net just once in February. This probably hasn’t been helped by an injury to top scorer Stephane Bahoken and a distinct lack of goals from Lois Diony.
Meanwhile, Lens have done much better in recent weeks, and are unbeaten since 23 January.
The newly-promoted side have been one of Ligue 1’s surprise packages throughout 2020-21. A fifth-place finish would send them into the new Europa Conference League.
Their last match saw them defeat strugglers Dijon 2-1, and they’ve now collected nine points from a possible 15 in their last five games.
However, Angers will take some comfort from their last game against Lens. They defeated them 3-1 in late November, and haven’t lost to them since December 2013.
Angers form guide: D-L-W-L-D
Lens form guide: D-D-W-D-W
Angers vs Lens Team News
Angers
Angers will be without Enzo Ebosse and Jimmy Cabot, who have been sidelined with long term injuries. The involvement of Rachid Alioui and Stephane Bahoken remains in doubt. However, both could be introduced from the bench on Sunday.
Injured: Jimmy Cabot, Enzo Ebosse
Doubtful: Rachid Alioui, Stephane Bahoken
Suspended: None
Lens
Forward Ignatius Ganago is the only doubt for Lens this weekend, as he’s still recovering from a muscular injury.
Injured: None
Doubtful: Ignatius Ganago
Suspended: None
Angers vs Lens Predicted XI
Angers predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Paul Bernardoni, Abdoulaye Bamba, Ismael Traore, Romain Thomas, Vincent Manceau, Pierrick Capelle, Thomas Mangani, Lassana Coulibaly, Angelo Fulgini, Sofiane Boufal, Lois Diony
Lens predicted XI (3-4-1-2): Jean-Louis Leca, Jonathan Gradit, Loic Bade, Steven Fortes, Jonathan Clauss, Cheick Oumar Doucoure, Seko Fofana, Massadio Haidara, Gael Kakuta, Simon Banza, Florian Sotoca
Angers vs Lens Prediction
Angers have been struggling in recent weeks and this looks like a tricky game for them.
Lens are a good side all over the pitch. They can score goals and will be difficult for a profligate Angers side to break down.
It seems that an away win may be the most likely result in this fixture.
Prediction: Angers 0-1 Lens
