Montpellier vs Lens Prediction 31 January 2025

🔊 Will Montpellier continue to climb from the bottom of the league table? In the 20th round of Ligue 1, Lens will visit them. The hosts are experiencing a clear emotional uplift. This is not surprising, as in the last two rounds, they have gained almost as many points as they managed to secure in the first 17 matches of the championship. However, Lens might bring Montpellier's players back down to earth, as the team is fighting for a spot in European competitions. You will find all the details of this matchup and the most optimal bet in our prediction.

📊 H2H

In head-to-head meetings, Lens takes the lead, having won five out of the last ten matches. Montpellier has only managed to beat the "blood and gold" twice. Notably, in only one of the previous nine encounters between the teams were more than three goals scored. Therefore, our editorial team suggests considering the option of Total goals under 3.5.

🟠 Montpellier

Montpellier made a sudden leap, as they say, "hit the ground running." For a long time, this team didn't even attempt to escape from the last place in Ligue 1, but in just two matches, they turned the situation upside down. Victories over Monaco (2:1) and Toulouse (2:1) allowed the team to gain 15 points and rise to the second-to-last position. And this is a huge progress for a club that managed to win only twice in the previous 17 rounds.

There is also good news from the infirmary, which is slowly starting to thin out. Only defenders Minckarelli, Maksimović, and Julien remain there. And still, Montpellier's coaching staff cannot rely on the suspended midfielder Ferri.

🔴 Lens

Lens has slightly loosened its grip, which is unacceptable when fighting for a chance to represent their country on the international stage. The team has fallen out of the European competition zone and is now seventh, having only gained seven points in the last five rounds. The "blood and gold" know how to play calmly and carefully, controlling the course of the game. But as soon as something starts to go against their scenario, Lens usually fails to adjust and recover.

The "blood and gold" currently have goalkeeper Petric, defender Chávez, and forwards Labo-Lascari and Satriano in the infirmary. While they are not irreplaceable, these are still significant losses for Lens.

⚽️ Goal Prediction

Despite all their setbacks, Montpellier consistently managed to demonstrate good conversion of their scoring opportunities. And in the last five home matches, this team has scored 10 goals. So even Lens' strong defense can be breached by the hosts. We suggest betting on Montpellier to score.

🚩 Corner Prediction

Lens prefers to slow down the pace and artificially decelerate the game, focusing on ball possession. Such football implies that the ball will mostly remain in the midfield and rarely reach either goal. This is confirmed by the average number of corners in the "blood and gold" matches, which is 7.7. Therefore, our editorial team advises betting on Total corners under 9.5.

📝 Match Prediction

Montpellier is transforming from the main underdog of the championship into an opponent capable of instilling fear in other teams. The previous two rounds clearly showed that this club cannot be written off too early. Even Lens, which holds a position in the upper part of the league table, can easily drop points at "Stade de la Mosson." We predict that the match will end in a 1:1 draw.

Montpellier cannot boast consistent defensive play, but they score with enviable regularity at home. And Lens has started to make more defensive errors - only in one of their last six matches did the "blood and gold" manage not to concede. So we suggest betting on Both teams to score: yes.