Well, we have a thrilling Ligue 1 matchup here between Saint-Étienne and Lens.
In goal for Lens, we have Brice Samba with a solid rating of 7.68 and he's made a whopping 15 saves this season. Saint-Étienne is depending on Gautier Larsonneur in goal who's been a touch quieter, with a 6.27 rating and a mere 6 saves. What Larsonneur lacks in saves, he more than makes up for in colorful goalie jerseys -- the man's been a virtual rainbow this season.
Looking at the top performers, Lens has been heavily reliant on Abdukodir Khusanov, Jonathan Gradit and M'Bala Nzola. They've been controlling games with their passing, while Nzola brings some firepower with two goals. In contrast, Irina Shayk — sorry, I mean Saint-Étienne — is led by Zuriko Davitashvili and Ibrahim Sissoko, both of whom have been finding the back of the net regularly, even more so than Lens's top goal scorer.
In terms of regular season records, Lens has been unbeatable with 2 wins and a remarkable 5 draws, ostensibly applying the old adage that 'if you can't win, don't lose'. Saint-Étienne have managed to bag exactly 2 wins as well, but they also took on 4 losses like they were going out of style.
Lens's recent results show an admirable consistency of low-scoring draws, with all of their last five games ending in deadlock. Meanwhile, Saint-Étienne's recent form is as predictable as a room full of toddlers with paint, having won, lost, and drawn in their last five games, with the scores ranging from 8-0 drubbings to a nail-biting 1-0 victory.
Given everything we've seen, I'm inclined to lean towards Lens for this matchup. Their stronger goalkeeping and steady play are likely to give them the edge, even though Saint-Étienne has a couple of solid goal-scoring threats.
Albert’s Prediction: Lens by 1