- 1 Lens vs Sporting CP: two opening-night winners, and a first-ever meeting at Bollaert
- 2 Lens: Thauvin in form, but a defence stretched thin
- 3 Sporting CP: six unbeaten and a front line that already knows the way to goal
- 4 Free Champions League Prediction: Lens vs Sporting CP
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About visuals
Lens vs Sporting CP: two opening-night winners, and a first-ever meeting at Bollaert 
Lens and Sporting CP have never met. Not once in any competition. That changes on Tuesday at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, with kick-off at 18:45 Paris time on matchday two of the Champions League league phase.
Both clubs arrive on three points. Lens won 3-2 at Slavia Prague on matchday one, and Sporting beat Galatasaray 3-1 in Lisbon. Sporting sit sixth in the 36-team table, Lens tenth, and the only thing separating them is a single goal of difference.
Those two results tell you a fair bit about what to expect here. Lens scored three away from home but let in two. Sporting scored three and conceded one. Both teams went forward with intent, and both teams were breached.
The market sees this as almost perfectly balanced. Lens are rated only a fraction ahead of Sporting for the win, with the draw the least likely of the three outcomes. That tells you neither side is expected to sit back.
Who blinks first? On matchday one, neither team showed much interest in a cautious approach, and there’s little reason to think Tuesday will be any different.
Lens were handed one of the hardest league-phase draws of any French club, and this is the first of their home tests. Sporting, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last six games in all competitions. It’s set up nicely.
Lens: Thauvin in form, but a defence stretched thin 
Florian Thauvin was everywhere in Prague. One goal, four chances created and eight shots, three of them on target. Ruben Aguilar and Abdallah Sima also scored as Lens won 3-2, and that spread of scorers is a real strength for Yannick Cahuzac’s side.
The worry is at the back. Lens shipped two in Prague, and they’d conceded nine in their first five Ligue 1 games of the season. Their availability list doesn’t help. Team news on the Lens side is unclear heading into this one, with some reports listing Jhoanner Chavez, Maik Nawrocki and Sima as injured and Jean-Clair Todibo, Thorgan Hazard and Ilan Jourdren unavailable, while others suggest a near-full squad.
If even half of that list is accurate, it’s three centre-back options gone. That’s a problem they can ill afford against a side that scored three on matchday one.
Cahuzac has settled on a 3-4-2-1, with Robin Risser in goal and Matthieu Udol and Kyllian Antonio in the back three. Ismaelo Ganiou is the most likely option if further reshuffling is needed. Thauvin operates in the band behind the striker, and he’s the player who makes Lens tick.
At Bollaert, with that crowd behind them, Lens will create chances. Keeping Sporting quiet is the harder part.
Lens finished second in Ligue 1 last season, and this is a club that’s grown used to big nights at Bollaert. The Champions League stage is still fresh for this group, though, and the win in Prague will have done plenty for belief.
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Sporting CP: six unbeaten and a front line that already knows the way to goal 
Unbeaten in six. Four wins, two draws. Rui Borges’ side travel to northern France in good shape, and the 3-1 win over Galatasaray on matchday one was a clear statement of what they can do in this competition.
Luis Suarez and Geny Catamo both scored that night. Suarez had three shots, two on target, and led the line well. Catamo is a constant threat from wide areas and should start again.
The squad situation is much cleaner than Lens’. Nuno Santos is the only confirmed absentee, a muscle problem that thins the defensive options a little without changing the shape of the side.
Borges likes a 4-2-3-1. Rui Silva is a fixture in goal, Goncalo Inacio anchors the defence, and Sergi Altimira and Issa Doumbia hold the middle. There’s some debate over whether Suarez or Nestory Irankunda starts up front, but either way Sporting have the pace to hurt a Lens back line that’s been rearranged.
They did concede against Galatasaray, though. That’s worth remembering.
This isn’t a Sporting side built to sit deep and soak up pressure. With a 4-2-3-1 and pace out wide, they’ll look to break quickly whenever Lens commit bodies forward, and the Bollaert crowd will push Lens forward a lot.
Probable lineup Lens: Risser; Udol, Antonio, Gradit; Aguilar, Thauvin, Cuisance, Sotoca, Titraoui, Haidara; Edouard (availability of several Lens players unconfirmed at time of publication)
Probable lineup Sporting CP: Rui Silva; Araujo, Goncalo Inacio, Eduardo Quaresma, Vagiannidis; Doumbia, Altimira; Luis Guilherme, Zalazar, Catamo; Suarez
Free Champions League Prediction: Lens vs Sporting CP
Our prediction: Both teams to score: Yes
We wouldn’t separate these two on the result. The market can’t either. But both teams scored three on matchday one, and both teams conceded. Lens have let in two away and nine in five league games; Sporting were breached at home by Galatasaray.
The Lens injury and suspension picture makes the case stronger. If Cahuzac is short of centre-backs, Sporting’s front line will get chances. At the other end, Thauvin’s form and Lens’ home crowd make it hard to imagine the hosts drawing a blank.
Goals at both ends is the most natural reading of this game. Bookmaker prices weren’t available at the time of writing, so check the line before kick-off.
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