Two teams looking to maintain their 100% start to the UEFA Champions League (UCL) come face-to-face as Lens host Sporting CP in their second league phase match.
Match News and Current Form
Lens secured their first victory (L1) under new boss Yannick Cahuzac by beating Lyon 2-1 on Friday night, setting them up perfectly to win their opening two games at this stage of the European Cup/UCL for the first time. A dramatic 3-2 win over Slavia Prague on matchday one in which they netted two stoppage-time goals affords them that chance, and losing only two of their last 29 home games in UEFA competition (W22, D5) certainly hints they’re more than capable. The Blood and Gold are unbeaten in the last ten of those games (W7, D3), but a failure to keep a clean sheet in their last 14 UCL matches should be enough to keep their feet firmly on the floor.
Sporting also got their league phase campaign off to the perfect start by coming from behind to beat Galatasaray 3-1 last month, meaning they could now win their first two UCL fixtures for just the second time. A record of just one away win from their last nine attempts in continental football (D3, L5) suggests that might be a tall order, but they are at least unbeaten on the road across all competitions since March (W5, D5). That run includes a 3-1 victory over Braga on Friday night to preserve their unbeaten competitive record this season (W6, D3), and having won their last three UCL league phase games, they certainly shouldn’t be overlooked here.
Head-to-Head History
Lens won their only prior home game against Portuguese opposition, a negative omen for a Sporting side who’ve picked up just one victory across their last eight trips to France (D2, L5).
Hot Stats and Streaks
Six of Lens’ last seven outings saw both teams score.
Lens have scored ten of their last 13 goals after half-time.
Twelve of Sporting’s last 14 competitive matches produced over 2.5 goals.
Sporting have conceded at least twice in six of their last nine away matches in Europe.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Lens star Franjo Ivanović is likely to grow into the game having netted his last eight goals after half-time, but fired blanks in his two unbeaten clashes with Sporting whilst playing for Benfica last season (W1, D1). Luis Suárez needs one goal to become outright Sporting’s top scorer in the UCL, with five of his previous six strikes in this competition coming after the break.
Jhoanner Chávez is a doubt for Lens, who will definitely be without Abdallah Sima. Sporting’s Rodrigo Zalazar picked up an injury against Braga on Friday.
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Betting Analysis
These two sides rarely keep clean sheets, so both teams to score and over 2.5 goals is certainly an avenue worth exploring.
Author: Matt Jones
