Strasbourg vs Lens Prediction: Gary Goals as O’Neil’s outfit swap strikes with Sage’s side

RC Lens suffered a 3-2 loss at home to AS Monaco last week, but Les Sang et Or remain firmly in the Ligue 1 title race as they sit just two points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain heading into the 24th round of fixtures this weekend. Pierre Sage's side open the action on Friday night (19:45 GMT, Ligue 1 Pass) with a home game against Gary O'Neil's RC Strasbourg, whose 3-1 victory over Olympique Lyonnais last Sunday kept them seventh in the standings.

Below are my Strasbourg vs Lens predictions, alongside all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this league meeting at the Stade de la Meinau.

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Team News

Emmanuel Emegha (leg), Sam Amo-Ameyaw (knock) and Max Oyedele (groin) could all sit out Friday's fixture for Strasbourg.

Football Odds

As for Lens, Samson Baidoo, Regis Gurtner (both hamstring), Kyllian Antonio (foot), Jonathan Gradit (lower leg), Mamadou Sangare (hip), Ruben Aguilar (unspecified) and Wesley Said (illness) are all uncertain to feature.

Strasbourg vs Lens Odds

Strasbourg, who have failed to beat Lens at home since April 2022, drawing twice either side of a 1-0 defeat in September 2023, are 7/5 favourites to triumph on Friday, implying a 41.7% probability of success.

Meanwhile, Lens, who won November's reverse fixture 1-0 thanks to a 69th-minute strike from Ismaelo Ganiou, are 7/4, or a 36.4% chance, in the Match Result market, with the draw offered at 12/5.

Both Teams To Score and Total Goals Over/Under +3.5 - Yes & Over 3.5 @ 7/4

This has all the hallmarks of a competitive and entertaining contest on Friday.

Lens are in sensational form, winning 14 of their last 17 league games (L3), scoring 36 times since a goalless draw at Stade Rennais on September 28.

Strasbourg, meanwhile, have won three of their last six in Ligue 1 (D1, L2), netting 13 times in that run.

Today's Football Fixtures

Both teams have scored in Strasbourg's last seven league matches, and three, including their last two, have featured at least four goals.

BTTS-Yes and Over 3.5 Goals has been a winning selection in three of Lens' last five Ligue 1 games, so hopes are high for at least one strike on either side this Friday, and a minuimum of four goals in total.

Player to Receive a Card - Nidal Celik (RCL) @ 16/5

Nidal Celik joined Lens in February 2025 from hometown club Sarajevo, for whom he received five yellow cards and one red card in 25 appearances across the Bosnian top flight.

The central defender averaged 0.9 and 1.6 fouls per game, respectively, across the 2023/24 and 2024/25 campaigns before leaving for France last February.

To say he has been eased into life at Lens is an understatement, as he only made his debut for the club on Valentine's Day this year, starting and playing the duration of Les Sang et Or's 5-0 win at Paris FC before getting the nod again as the right-sided centre-back in a back three for last week's defeat to Monaco.

Celik may well start again in the position on Friday, and that makes the 19-year-old a viable candidate in the Player to Receive a Card market, with enticing odds of 16/5.

The teenager will likely be tasked with containing Strasbourg winger Martial Godo, who won four fouls against Lyon last week to take his fouled-per-90 average to two in Ligue 1 this season.

The 22-year-old has been upended 11 times across his last five league appearances, and Celik could be forced to take alternative action to deal with the former Fulham man.