Ligue 1: Monaco vs Lens Betting Preview, Odds
Lackluster Start to the Season for Lens
Monaco Scoring at Will
Through three matches, Monaco have scored 10 goals and have been firing on all cylinders. Monaco’s Wissam Ben Yedder leads Ligue 1 with four goals through three games and has been one of the most consistent strikers in the league for the last few seasons. Monaco head into Saturday’s match vs. Lens with a 2-1-0 record, while Lens are still going for their first win. In our Monaco vs Lens betting preview, we’ll run through the odds and see what Lens’ chances are to get their season on track.
Monaco vs Lens
Day/Time:
Location: Stade Louis II, Monaco
Head-to-Head:
Lens have lost just one of their last seven games vs. AS Monaco. On last season’s Ligue 1 schedule, Lens won both meetings and outscored Monaco 7-1. Since Lens earned promotion back to Ligue 1 in 2020, Monaco haven’t beaten them in a league game. Monaco did manage a 4-2 win in the 2022 Coupe de France, though.
Monaco Remain Unbeaten
Monaco has scored the most goals in the Ligue 1 stats so far. The Monegasque club opened up their 2023-24 season with a 4-2 win at Clermont as Wissam Ben Yedder scored twice. Ben Yedder, who is Monaco’s captain and a France international, is currently under investigation for rape and sexual assault by the French police. It does not look like he’ll be suspended by his club in the meantime, so he should be in the starting lineup until further notice.
Ben Yedder was also on target and Takumi Minamino scored twice as Monaco defeated Strasbourg 3-0 in their home opener. The duo also scored in the recent 3-3 draw at Nantes. Nantes led 3-1 but Monaco managed a second-half comeback to stay unbeaten for the season.
Our Monaco vs Lens betting preview notes that Monaco are favorite for Saturday’s match. Monaco has reportedly agreed to a deal with Arsenal for striker Folarin Balogun and the USA international could feature on Saturday. He’ll join a high-powered offense as Ben Yedder leads the league in goals and Minamino already has five goal contributions.
Lens Still Without Clean Sheet
RC Lens was one of the surprise Ligue 1 teams in the 2022-23 season. They conceded the fewest goals in the league in 2022-23 and lost just four games en route to a second-place finish. Next month, Lens will participate in the Champions League group stage for the first time in quite a while. However, they’ve already lost two of their first three matches to start the new season.
Last Saturday, Lens could not handle the trio of Ousmane Dembele, Marco Asensio, and Kylian Mbappe. PSG went up 3-0 over Lens before substitute Morgan Guilavogui got a consolation goal. Lens is yet to keep a clean sheet and hold a 0-1-2 record heading into Matchday 4.
Lens’ top scorer from last season, Lois Openda, left the club during the Summer. His replacement Elye Wahi could make his first start on Saturday and Wahi was excellent with Montpellier last season. The 20-year-old scored 19 league goals in 2022-23 and Lens certainly need an X factor with the way they’ve struggled so far.
Match Analysis & Odds
Monaco vs Lens betting previews note that recent meetings between the two sides have been high-scoring. Each of the last four games has finished with three or more goals. For Saturday’s match, under three goals sit at -125 odds, though. The over, at -105, might not be the worst bet given Monaco’s scoring form and Lens’ inability to keep opponents out of the back of the net so far.
Currently, Lens pk, +0.5 displays -110 odds but they haven’t managed to cover the spread yet this season. Monaco pk, -0.5 comes in at -120 and the hosts are also +110 moneyline favorites. They’ve scored at least three goals in each of the Ligue 1 matches thus far. Even though Lens has won the last two meetings between the sides, they are priced at +220 moneyline odds.
Franck Haise’s men need to kickstart their season and a win would certainly build some momentum before the international break. A draw also stands at +280 and two of the last five Ligue 1 matchups between the sides have finished all square.
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