Monaco vs Lens - prediction, team news, lineups

Monaco can temporarily regain first place in Ligue 1 with a win or draw versus Lens at Stade Louis II on Friday evening.

A 1-1 draw with Strasbourg dropped the Principality club down to second in the table, behind Lille on goal difference, while Lens sit 10th after a 2-2 draw at Le Mans.

In a season where everything was going right early on, Monaco incurred their first setback of the new campaign last week, the first points they have dropped under new manager Filipe Luis.

Although they failed to emerge victorious, on Friday the club can earn points in their first five Ligue 1 affairs for the second time in three seasons.

Les Monegasques have allowed the joint-fewest goals in the league thus far (two) and are tied for first regarding the fewest average goals conceded per match (0.5).

On Friday, Monaco can extend their home unbeaten run in the top flight this month to six matches, with their last league defeat in September at Stade Louis II occurring in 2023 against arch-rivals Nice (1-0).

They have not lost domestically all season when conceding the opening goal, collecting a combined four points in that position so far.

Meanwhile, they will hope to win consecutive competitive games versus Lens in the same year on Friday for the first time since 2014.

One of the most consistent sides in Ligue 1 a season ago have had to earn results the hard way in recent times and evidently it is not something the higher ups at Lens were pleased with.

The club made a big move this week, parting ways by mutual agreement with Dino Toppmoller after just four Ligue 1 matches, with this side conceding multiple strikes in every one of their competitive games this season.

Yannick Cahuzac will take charge of a side on a two-match unbeaten run across all competitions, coming from two goals down to draw Le Mans, just days after twice coming from a goal down to defeat Slavia Prague on matchday one in the Champions League.

The second-best defensive unit regarding goals conceded last season have shown their attacking prowess in 2026-27 with Lens netting the joint-second-most goals in the league so far (eight).

While we have seen plenty of creativity from this team so far, Lens have not been as potent in the attacking third as they could be, leading the league regarding big chances missed (15).

Les Sang et Or are unbeaten in five of their last six domestic visits to the Principality, winning this exact fixture last season, 4-1.

Expect Takumi Minamino to miss another match for Monaco as he recovers from a cruciate ligament tear, while Ansu Fati is dealing with a sore calf and Anis Sobeir has an ankle issue.

Their top goalscorer from last season, Folarin Balogun, could miss another match because of a knock, Edan Diop has a thigh strain, while Jordan Teze and Mamadou Coulibaly might both be sidelined with injuries.

Paris Brunner is up to three goals in Ligue 1 this season, tied for second in the league as his second-half strike on matchday four cancelled out the own goal from Sadibou Sane.

At Lens, Jhoanner Chavez and Yacine Titraoui have sore thighs, while Regis Gurtner and Samson Baidoo remain question marks due to hamstring injuries.

Do not expect Maik Nawrocki to be available, as he continues to recover from a cruciate ligament problem, Saud Abdulhamid is questionable with a knock, while Souleymane Sangnan will be eligible to return from his suspension.

Abdallah Sima and Franjo Ivanovic both found the back of the net for them on matchday four, with the former scoring his first of the new Ligue 1 campaign.

Hradecky; Vanderson, Dier, Salisu, Nazinho; Camara, Zakaria; Detourbet, Abline, Golovin; Brunner

Risser; Gradit, Antonio, Udol; Aguilar, Haidara, Bulatovic, Hazard; Thauvin, Sima; Ivanovic

While they dropped points for the first time last week, Monaco's resilience, we believe, will shine through on Friday against a side that have been a little more vulnerable defensively than we are used to.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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