Lens in Freefall After January Window - Time to Oppose and Look at Rivals?

Financially, Lens had an excellent window in January, earning over €60m from player sales. What impact has this had on their Ligue 1 ambitions?

Odds courtesy of Betway. Correct at time of publishing and subject to change.

Lens Struggling in 2025

Lens lost only three of their opening 15 games of the 2024/25 campaign and had one of the best defensive records in the division. However, they have already conceded more goals in the last seven games than they did in the whole first half of the season. They have only managed three wins in 2025.

Losing Abdukodir Khusanov, Brice Samba, David Da Costa and Kevin Danso certainly hasn’t helped, and they now face the prospect of midtable obscurity. Four consecutive defeats for a team with hopes of qualifying for a UEFA competition is concerning, but losing to Nantes and Le Havre only makes things worse, especially with the latter being at home.

Their next challenge is an away trip to Marseille, where they’ll have to work hard to contain Robert de Zerbi’s team on their own patch. Les Minots haven’t lost in Ligue 1 at Stade Velodrome since November - Lens haven’t beaten any of the current top 10 in almost seven months. 

No team in the division has had fewer over 2.5 games than Lens (10), but there have been 11 goals in their last two. Marseille have scored 12 since the start of February, and eight of them came at home.

A straight home win is at 1.57 on Betway, but you can increase that by backing more goals against a side currently in freefall. They have time to save their season, but do they have the players to do it?

It’s all About Timing

There have been 15 goals scored in Lens’ last four matches, and nine of them were scored in the second half. They have also conceded in injury time in all of the three defeats leading up to this weekend’s clash with Marseille. Over the course of 2024/25, they conceded nine in the final 15 minutes of games and nearly double the amount in second halves.

With their next home game against Rennes, a busy second half seems likely. Les Rennais’ league games have seen 21 goals in the final 30 - and their average time for conceding/scoring both sit in the second half. It’s possibly a more reliable option than picking a result.

Will Still’s team are at home and highest in the table, so they should have the upper hand - but their form is polar opposite. Rennes have won four of their last five, while Lens have won one in five. The away side (3.70 to win) will be confident, especially with the hosts’ recent defensive woes - conceding 15 in nine games.

Lens’ impressive start means that relegation is not a worry, as they are 13 points clear of 16th place. However, they now find themselves six points behind the top six, and their goal difference recently reached zero. Marseille should prove to be too much for them, but a win over Rennes could be the boost they need to reset.