Nice have eight more games to secure their spot in Ligue 1's top five, but while they occupy a Europa Conference League qualification spot, they have their eyes set on a Champions League place, currently sitting just two points behind third spot.
Lens welcome Nice to the Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Sunday, with the hosts in 10th place and seven points behind their visitors, meaning that three points for Lens this weekend could reignite their hopes of European football next year.
Match preview
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Franck Haise's side enter this fixture on an inconsistent run of form, having fallen to a 1-0 defeat against fourth-placed Strasbourg last time out, despite creating a lot of chances.
The away team registered 13 shots in total, but of which they only managed to direct two on target, suggesting that Lens need to be more clinical in the final third.
That was the third game in their last four whereby Lens have failed to find the back of the net, which seems uncharacteristic for Haise's side, who have scored 45 goals in 30 matches so far, a better total than the majority of sides around them.
Lens should be confident on Sunday as they are on home soil, and their record at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis has been respectable this season, only tasting defeat on three occasions.
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Since earning three points against league leaders Paris Saint-Germain at the beginning of last month, Nice have not managed another win in their following three outings, and that continued last Saturday with a 1-1 draw against Rennes.
Christophe Galtier's side only held their lead for 10 minutes, with their visitors equalising after Andy Delort had given Nice the lead in the 67th minute.
Nice need to get back to winning ways to avoid dropping out of the top five in the final run-in of the campaign, as they currently only sit four points above the chasing pack.
Sunday's visitors will be searching for their ninth away win of the season, and during their away games they have only conceded nine goals while scoring two more on their travels than they have managed on home soil, which bodes well for a good result this weekend.
Fixtures between Lens and Nice in recent years have always been tight affairs, with just one goal separating the winner from the loser, and that was the case again in the reverse fixture in December, when Nice won 2-1 thanks to strikes from Mario Lemina and Justin Kluivert.
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Team News
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Lens striker Corentin Jean has not featured since January due to a knee injury, and he is certain to sit out of this fixture also, but he could make his return before the end of the season.
The hosts will operate in their usual 3-4-1-2 formation, with Florian Sotoca expected to return to the starting 11 after being replaced by Arnaud Kalimuendo-Muinga last time out.
Ignatius Ganago will lead the line alongside Sotoca, while David Costa will offer some creative support in the hosts' attacks from his number 10 role.
Nice midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin will remain absent from the visitors' squad due to a calf injury, and Alexis Claude is also not available, facing a longer period on the sidelines and will not feature again during this campaign.
Left-back Melvin Bard was forced off due to an injury against Marseille, but he returned after the international break to complete the whole match last weekend.
Lens possible starting lineup:
Leca; Wooh, Medina, Gradit; Frankowski, Fofana, Doucoure, Clauss; Costa, Ganago, Sotoca
Nice possible starting lineup:
Benitez; Bard, Dante, Todibo, Atal; Gouiri, Thuram-Ulien, Rossario, Kluivert; Dolberg, Delort
We say: Lens 1-1 Nice
Nice have shown signs that they may not be able to keep hold of their current fifth spot, and Lens have the capabilities to make this a difficult outing for the visitors.
These meetings between Lens and Nice have been close in recent years and that is why this encounter is likely to be a draw, as nothing seems to have changed between the two teams.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Lens win with a probability of 52.29%. A draw had a probability of 25.1% and a win for Nice had a probability of 22.65%.
The most likely scoreline for a Lens win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.4%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.91%) and 2-1 (9.49%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.88%), while for a Nice win it was 0-1 (7.45%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 5.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Lens would win this match.
