Monaco welcomes Lens in early top-of-table clash.
An enticing Ligue 1 clash awaits as AS Monaco, aiming to maintain their unbeaten run, host RC Lens, who look to overcome their midweek European exertions and keep their own perfect start intact.
Monaco
Sunday’s Ligue 1 action kicks off with an exciting match between Monaco and Lens, two of the four teams that have won their opening two games of the season, with both in the top four.
Monaco’s impressive form extends from the end of the 2023/24 season, as they are currently on a four-game unbeaten run in the league without conceding. In their recent match against Lyon, Monaco’s defence was particularly remarkable, limiting Lyon to just one shot on goal.
Monaco’s manager, Adi Hütter, also brings a perfect record against Lens into this match, having won all three of their previous encounters. He will probably deploy a 4-2-3-1 formation with Breel Embolo in attack.
Eliesse Ben Seghir, who scored in the previous match, taking his Ligue 1 goal tally to seven, will be key for Monaco going into this fixture. However, Lamine Camara is suspended after receiving a late red card in the previous fixture against Lyon.
Additionally, Edan Diop is out due to a foot injury, while Krépin Diatta and Radosław Majecki will not feature due to thigh and ankle injuries, respectively.
Lens
Lens, on the other hand, had less time to prepare for this match due to their midweek UEFA Conference League qualifying commitments in Greece.
Like Monaco, Lens started the league season with two consecutive wins, both without conceding a goal after last weekend’s 2-0 win over Brest. Although they last achieved three straight league wins without conceding back in 2022, away games present their own set of challenges for Lens.
Having finished seventh in the league last season, they struggled in their final four away games, accumulating just one point. Nevertheless, they did secure a win against Angers in their first away match of the season.
New manager Will Still also brings a strong away record to this fixture, having won both of his previous away encounters against Monaco. Will Still will deploy a 3–4–3 formation for this fixture with Wesley Saïd, Florian Sotoca, and Anass Zaroury in attack.
Will Still will be without Colombian defender Devier Machado, who was issued a straight red card in Lens’ previous Ligue 1 encounter against Brest. Jimmy Cabot remains out of this fixture due to a knee injury, while Neil El Aynaoui is closer to returning to action after being sidelined by a knee injury.
Team form
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