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Sunday sees Reims take on Lens in a Ligue 1 match at the Stade Auguste-Delaune.
Reims are currently in 14th place in the table after somewhat of a sticky start to their campaign, while Lens are flying high in second place behind reigning champions Paris St. Germain.
So can the visitors keep up their good form here, or will they fall to a resurgent Reims?
Reims vs Lens Head-to-Head
After collecting just two points from their opening four matches, it looked like the 2022-23 campaign might be a difficult one for Reims, but they appeared to hit form during their midweek game against Angers.
Goals from Marshall Munetsi, Junya Ito, Folarin Balogun and Alexis Flips gave them a 2-4 victory, shooting them up the table into 14th place.
However, Oscar Garcia’s side then sold influential defender Wout Faes to Leicester City on deadline day, and quite how they’ll cope without him remains to be seen.
Lens, meanwhile, have flown out of the traps this season, winning four of their opening matches and drawing the other to give them 13 points on the board.
More to the point, Franck Haise’s side have also been free-scoring, hitting a total of 14 goals thus far, with only two sides delivering more.
After missing out on European football by just four points last season, Lens will be hopeful of pushing into the qualifying spots this time, and won’t want to let things slip here.
The last time these sides met, Lens ran out 1-2 winners in what was their fourth victory in a row over Reims, who have not beaten their visitors in league action since 2018.
Reims form guide: L-L-D-D-W
Lens form guide: W-D-W-W-W
Reims vs Lens Team News
Reims
Jens Cajuste is suspended for Reims, while a further three players are likely to miss out with injuries.
Injured: Azor Matusiwa, Rafik Guitane, Thomas Foket
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Jens Cajuste
Lens
Two players are unavailable for Lens thanks to injuries.
Injured: Wuilker Farinez, Adam Buksa
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Reims vs Lens Predicted XI
Reims predicted XI (3-4-3): Patrick Pentz, Andreaw Gravillon, Emmanuel Agbadou, Yunis Abdelhamid, Maxime Busi, Marshall Munetsi, Kamory Doumbia, Bradley Locko, Junya Ito, Folarin Balogun, Arber Zeneli
Lens predicted XI (3-4-3): Brice Samba, Jonathan Gradit, Kevin Danso, Facundo Medina, Przemyslaw Frankowski, Salis Abdul Samed, Seko Fofana, Deiver Machado, Wesley Said, Florian Sotoca, David da Costa
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Reims vs Lens Prediction
Despite Reims displaying some improved form in their midweek game, it feels likely that they’re going to be outgunned in this one.
Despite losing some key players in the summer, Lens don’t seem to be any worse off, and are thriving right now, particularly in front of goal.
Whether Reims’ defense can withstand the kind of onslaught that the visitors can bring is a major question mark, meaning the prediction is an away win.
Prediction: Reims 0-3 Lens
