One week on from coming up short in their top-of-the-table showdown with Paris Saint-Germain, Lens face another pivotal podium clash against Monaco at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Saturday night.
Franck Haise's 10 men were put to the sword 3-1 by PSG last week, while Les Monegasques' furthered their Champions League ambitions by beating Lorient by the same scoreline.
Match preview
© Reuters
Going down to 10 men after just 19 minutes at the Parc des Princes was not in the script for Lens, who lost Salis Abdul Samed to a crunching tackle on Achraf Hakimi early doors, and the floodgates opened in a 10-minute flurry before the break.
Kylian Mbappe's opener off the post, Vitinha's thunderbolt and Lionel Messi's drilled finish put PSG on the path to three precious points, but Lens were not waving the white flag and reduced the deficit in a praiseworthy second-half performance through Przemyslaw Frankowski's spot kick.
With Marseille doing what they needed to do against Troyes, Lens can no longer proudly claim to be the best of the rest - having been knocked down to third place in the table, nine points behind the runaway Parisiens - and defeat on Saturday would force them out of the Champions League places entirely.
Les Sang et Or were basking in the glory of a four-game winning run before being brought crashing back down to earth at the Parc des Princes - which Haise believed "stitched up" another customary title for PSG - but European football is nearly a formality for a side who were competing in the second tier just three years ago.
Now preparing for a welcome return to home comforts, Lens have taken a league-high 40 points from their 15 matches at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis this season - not even PSG have performed as well on familiar territory - and their 13 victories on home soil is more than any other team in Europe's top five leagues.
© Reuters
Lens' tally of 11 goals shipped at home is also the best defensive record of its kind in the division, but a Monaco side who pride themselves on attacking supremacy will prove a stern test of their Champions League credentials, as Philippe Clement's side continue to fire in front of goal.
Extinguishing Lorient's hopes of a shock win before an hour had passed last weekend, Les Monegasques had Krepin Diatta's unorthodox effort, Aleksandr Golovin's calm finish and Kevin Volland's powerful drive to thank before the visitors netted a 12-yard consolation through Ibrahima Kone.
Having seen their Europa League hopes crash and burn at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen, Monaco - who currently sit fourth - must push for a podium finish to return to Europe's top tier, and victory over Lens on Saturday would propel Clement's goal-happy crop into the bronze medal position with six games remaining.
For all of their hosts' stellar work at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Monaco have a taste for points on the road - going unbeaten in each of their last nine away from home and scoring at least twice in 11 of their last 12 Ligue 1 contests on rival turf.
Lens left Monaco shell-shocked with a mammoth 4-1 win at the Stade Louis II back in August, but Les Sang et Or have gone winless in their last seven home matches against Les Monegasques - drawing four and losing three since a 3-0 triumph in February 2010.
Team News
© Reuters
Lens lynchpin Abdul Samed must serve a three-game ban for his red card-worthy challenge on Hakimi last weekend, so Haise should call upon Jean Onana to partner captain Seko Fofana in the engine room here.
Steven Fortes and Julien Le Cardinal both remain in the treatment room with knee injuries, while Adam Buksa's ankle problem is still giving him grief, but the Pole would have had little chance of displacing Lois Openda anyway.
Haise made the big call to demote Florian Sotoca to the bench for the clash with PSG, but the veteran Frenchman will likely come straight back in here - potentially in place of Angelo Fulgini.
Regarding Monaco, Clement had to make do without all of Ruben Aguilar (groin), Breel Embolo (knee) and Malang Sarr (groin) for the victory over Lorient, but Clement has revealed that Embolo's recovery is progressing quicker than expected as he fights to return before the end of the month.
Gelson Martins was once again absent from the squad last weekend due to personal reasons, and it is unclear if the Portuguese will be back in contention here, but Diatta and Golovin have surely done enough to hold their spots out wide.
Incredibly, Monaco captain Wissam Ben Yedder has never ended up on the winning side against Lens - drawing two and losing five of his seven meetings with Les Sang et Or - and he will endeavour to snap a three-game scoreless streak on Saturday night.
Lens possible starting lineup:
Samba; Medina, Danso, Gradit; Frankowski, Fofana, Onana, Haidara; Sotoca, Thomasson; Openda
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Vanderson, Maripan, Disasi, Henrique; Diatta, Fofana, Camara, Golovin; Ben Yedder, Volland
We say: Lens 2-2 Monaco
There is no doubt in our minds that Saturday's contest should live up to the billing, with Lens proving to be a near-unbreakable force at home while Monaco find the back of the net for fun on the road.
Clement's defence is not the most watertight, though, and one year on from the sides playing out a 2-2 draw at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, we can envisage an identical four-goal stalemate between two attack-minded outfits, as Haise's side retain their grip on third place for the time being.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
