Lens vs Sevilla facts

A top-two finish in UEFA Champions League Group B may be out of reach but Lens welcome Sevilla to France on Matchday 6 looking to confirm third place in the section and extend their European campaign into the new year.

Both teams' hopes of further progress in the competition were ended last time out, Lens going down 6-0 at Arsenal – their record European loss – and ten-man Sevilla letting slip a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at home to PSV Eindhoven.

That left the French side on five points, three above their Spanish rivals, who are yet to win a game in this season's Champions League, meaning a draw will guarantee Lens third place – while UEFA Europa League holders Sevilla must win to earn a return to that competition.

Third in their section for the second year running in 2022/23, Sevilla went on to claim a record-extending seventh UEFA Cup/Europa League while this is Lens' first European campaign since 2007/08.

Previous meetings

Matchday 1 was the teams' first ever meeting, Angelo Fulgini's 24th-minute earning Lens a 1-1 draw in their first Champions League game for 21 years after Lucas Ocampos had put home side Sevilla in front in the ninth minute.

Form guide

Lens

Record vs Spanish clubs: W4 D3 L1 F16 A11
Home record vs Spanish clubs: W4 D0 L0

Before Matchday 1, Lens' previous three games against Spanish sides had all finished 3-1, a loss at Deportivo La Coruña in the 2002/03 Champions League first group stage that is their sole defeat against La Liga opponents before a home win by the same scoreline and, most recently, a home victory against Osasuna in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup group stage.

The French side have won all four home games against Spanish visitors, scoring 12 goals and conceding five.

Lens are in the Champions League group stage for the first time since making their second appearance in 2002/03 when, as in this season and on their 1998/99 debut, they failed to reach the knockout rounds.

Les Sang et Or were second behind Dynamo Kyiv in their Champions League group in 1998/99, picking up eight points including a famous 1-0 victory at Arsenal. They also collected eight points in the first group stage four years later, finishing third in a section behind eventual champions AC Milan and Deportivo La Coruña, who had lost 2-1 and 3-1 respectively at Stade Bollaert-Delelis.

This is Lens' first European campaign since 2007/08 when, having qualified as one of the UEFA Intertoto Cup winners, they lost to Copenhagen in the UEFA Cup first round (1-1 h, 1-2 a aet).

Lens, who also won an Intertoto Cup in 2005, enjoyed their most successful European campaign in 1999/2000, reaching the UEFA Cup semi-finals before losing to Arsenal (0-1 a, 1-2 h).

After drawing in Seville on Matchday 1 Lens beat Arsenal 2-1 in northern France but took only one point from their two games against PSV (1-1 h, 0-1 a) before their 6-0 loss in London.

The French club are unbeaten in seven home European matches, winning five, since a 2-1 loss at home to Parma in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup group stage. That is their only loss in their last 18 European games in their own stadium (W14 D3).

A 3-1 reverse against Dynamo Kyiv on Matchday 6 in 1998/99 is Lens' only home Champions League defeat (W4 D3).

Promoted back to the top flight in 2020 after five seasons in Ligue 2, in 2022/23 Franck Haise guided Lens to their highest league finish since ending as runners-up to Lyon in 2001/02, his side finishing second in Ligue 1 on 84 points – one behind Paris Saint-Germain.

Sevilla

Record vs French clubs: W4 D3 L5 F11 A11
Away record vs French clubs: W1 D2 L3

This is the fourth time Sevilla have been paired with French opponents in their last six Champions League group appearances, most recently drawing 0-0 at Lens' local rivals LOSC Lille in 2021/22 before a 2-1 home defeat.

That latter result ended Sevilla's five-match unbeaten run against French clubs (W3 D2).

Sevilla lost their first three away games at Ligue 1 teams but are unbeaten in the last three (W1 D2) although they have scored in only two of their six games in France, including their sole victory, 3-1 at Rennes in the 2020/21 Champions League group stage.

This is Sevilla's ninth appearance in the Champions League group stage, and a fourth in succession. The Spanish club have reached the round of 16 or better on five occasions, although their last three campaigns, including this one, have ended in the group stage.

Sevilla won a record-extending seventh UEFA Cup/Europa League in 2022/23, beating Roma 4-1 on penalties in the final at Budapest's Puskás Aréna following a 1-1 draw after extra time. The Andalusians had finished third in Champions League Group G on five points and moved into the Europa League knockout round play-offs. There they beat PSV before further victories against Fenerbahçe (2-0 h, 0-1 a), Manchester United (2-2 a, 3-0 h) and Juventus (1-1 a, 2-1 h aet).

Sevilla have won four more UEFA Cup/Europa Leagues than any other side – three-time champions Inter, Liverpool, Juventus and Atlético are their closest rivals.

Jesús Navas was named the 2022/23 Europa League Player of the Season.

Sevilla's best European Cup performances came in 1957/58 and 2017/18 when they reached the quarter-finals, losing to Real Madrid and Bayern München respectively.

This season, after drawing with Lens Sevilla were held 2-2 at PSV before losing home (1-2) and away (0-2) against Arsenal and then at home to the Dutch club.

The Andalusian club are without a win in 15 away European games (D8 L7), since the 3-1 success at French side Rennes on Matchday 6 of the 2020/21 Champions League.

José Luis Mendilibar's side lost 5-4 on penalties to Manchester City after a 1-1 draw in the UEFA Super Cup in Piraeus on 16 August. It was Sevilla's sixth Super Cup defeat, a competition record.

Sevilla finished 12th in La Liga last season and were knocked out of the Copa del Rey at the quarter-final stage. It was their lowest Liga finish since 1999/2000, when they were relegated in bottom place.

The Andalusian club parted company with Europa League-winning coach Mendilibar on 8 October, appointing former Uruguay coach Diego Alonso as his replacement two days later.

Links and trivia

Loïc Badé made 31 Ligue 1 appearances for Lens in 2020/21, his sole season with the club before signing for Rennes.

Born in Sèvres in the suburbs of Paris, Badé spent time in the youth ranks at Antony Sports (2007–14), Boulogne-Billancourt (2014–15) and Paris FC (2015–17) before joining Le Havre. He made his senior debut in 2020 and went on to feature seven times in Ligue 2 before signing for Lens; he played 15 times in Ligue 1 for Rennes between 2021 and 2022.

Badé's record against Lens with Le Havre and Rennes was D2 L1.

Have also played in France:
Sergio Ramos (Paris Saint-Germain 2021–23)
Tanguy Nianzou (Paris Saint-Germain 2016–20)
Boubakary Soumaré (Paris Saint-Germain 2011–17, LOSC Lille 2017–21)
Lucas Ocampos (Monaco 2012–15, Marseille 2015–19)
Mariano Díaz (Lyon 2017–18)
Dodi Lukébakio (Toulouse 2016/17 loan)

Ramos scored six goals in 58 appearances in all competitions for Paris, winning two Ligue 1 titles. His record against Lens was W1 D1 L1, the win a 3-1 success in the most recent fixture, on 15 April.

Ocampos scored twice in Monaco's 6-0 home win against Lens in the Coupe de France quarter-finals on 26 March 2014.

Have played together:
Brice Samba & Rafa Mir (Nottingham Forest 2019/20)
Andy Diouf & Loïc Badé (Rennes 2021/22)
Faitout Maouassa & Boubakary Soumaré (France Under-21)
Nampalys Mendy & Boubakary Soumaré (Leicester 2021–23)

Lens left-back Maouassa was in the Rennes side that lost 3-1 at home to Sevilla in the Champions League group stage on 8 December 2020, Youssef En-Nesyri scoring twice for the Spanish side.

International team-mates:
Facundo Medina & Marcos Acuña, Lucas Ocampos (Argentina)
Andy Diouf, Elye Wahi & Loïc Badé, Tanguy Nianzou (France Under-21)

Acuña came on as a substitute during Argentina's win on penalties against France in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final. He was an unused substitute during a 4-3 defeat by Les Bleus in the 2018 round of 16.

En-Nesyri's Morocco lost 2-0 to France in the 2022 World Cup semi-final.

Ivan Rakitić played 90 minutes as Croatia lost 4-2 to France in the 2018 World Cup final.

Latest news

Lens

Lens made it ten Ligue 1 games without defeat on Friday (W6 D4) with a 0-0 draw at Montpellier, although that did end their run of three successive league victories.

Les Sang et Or have scored 15 goals and conceded only four in their ten-game unbeaten run.

Lens had registered their third consecutive Ligue 1 win on 2 December with a 3-2 home defeat of Lyon, Przemysław Frankowski scoring his first two club goals of the season.

Wesley Saïd had opened the scoring to register in his second consecutive league appearance. His last nine Lens goals have all come in victories.

The two Lyon goals are the only ones Lens have conceded in their last seven Ligue 1 matches.

Lens had recorded their fifth successive Ligue 1 clean sheet with a 3-0 win at Clermont on 25 November.

Elye Wahi, who was sent off in first-half added time, opened the scoring with his first goal in Ligue 1 since 29 September before Adrien Thomasson found the net in the league for the first time this season.

The French side lost four of their first five Ligue 1 fixtures this season, drawing the other 1-1 at home to Rennes on 20 August. They went down 1-0 at home to Metz on 16 September to make it three successive league defeats for the first time since May 2021.

Lens had to wait until 24 September to register their first victory of the season in all competitions, a 2-1 home Ligue 1 defeat of Toulouse. They have won five of their subsequent nine league games, drawing the other four.

One point from five games was Lens' worst start to a Ligue 1 campaign. Four points after five matches was their lowest total since picking up three in 2007/08. They have taken 19 points from their ten subsequent Ligue 1 games.

Les Sang et Or have 23 points after 15 games, 13 less than at the same stage last season.

Abdukodir Khusanov made his Lens debut against Metz, becoming the first player from Uzbekistan to appear in Ligue 1.

Deiver Machado was substituted at half-time of Colombia's 2-1 win against Brazil in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying on 16 November with a groin injury. He returned as a half-time substitute at Arsenal on Matchday 5 and started again Lyon but was replaced at the break with a recurrence of the problem that is expected to rule him out for several weeks.

On 30 October Brice Samba finished tenth in the voting for the Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper. Wahi was ninth in the poll for the Kopa Trophy for the best Under-21 player.

Sevilla

Sevilla have won only two of their last 15 games in all competitions (D7 L6). On Saturday they lost 1-0 at Mallorca in La Liga.

The Andalusian club have 13 points after 15 league games – one more than at the same stage in 2022/23.

The second of those victories came on 6 December when they won 2-0 away to fifth division Atlético Astorga in the second round of the Copa del Rey thanks to Sergio Ramos's second goal since his return and a first for Federico Gattoni since his summer arrival.

That was Sevilla's first win in seven games (D3 L3), since a 3-0 success at sixth division Quintanar in the Copa del Rey first round on 1 November.

It is also one of only four Sevilla wins in all competitions in 2023/24 (D10 L9).

The victories against Atlético Astorga and Quintanar are also two of only four clean sheets Sevilla have managed in all competitions this season, the others a 1-0 home Liga win against Las Palmas on 17 September and a 0-0 draw at Osasuna six days later.

Diego Alonso has two wins in his 12 games as Sevilla coach (D5 L5).

Alonso is without a win in his seven Liga games as Sevilla coach (D5 L2); he is the club's third coach to fail to win any of his first seven league games, after Campanal in 1949 and Ignacio Eizaguirre in 1965.

Sevilla drew 1-1 at home to Villarreal on 3 December despite taking the lead through Kike Salas' second goal of the season and his first since the 5-1 win against Almería on 26 September.

Ramos's goal against PSV on Matchday 5 was his first for Sevilla since scoring in a 2-2 draw against Real Madrid on 14 May 2005. The defender's penalty at Atlético Astorga was his fifth Sevilla goal and his first away from home.

Ramos made his second Sevilla debut in the 1-0 win against Las Palmas on 17 September, 18 years 20 days after his first.

Youssef En-Nesyri is Sevilla's top scorer with five goals in La Liga and nine in all competitions.

Sevilla have gone 2-0 down in five of their last 13 games across all competitions.

The 5-1 win over Almería was only the second time this season that Sevilla managed more than a single goal in a game. They have hit two or more in six of their 15 subsequent matches.

On 8 October Sevilla parted company with coach José Luis Mendilibar, who had taken charge on 21 March and overseen 28 games in all competitions. Two days later, Alonso agreed a deal until the end of the season as Mendilibar's replacement.

Marcos Acuña was taken off at half-time against Villarreal with a bruised hip and missed the weekend defeat, as did Tanguy Nianzou (hamstring) and Fernando (shoulder), who also picked up injuries against Villarreal.

Jesús Navas has not played since Matchday 5 due to a hamstring problem.

Loïc Badé went off with a muscle injury in a 2-1 defeat at Real Sociedad on 27 November and has not played since.

Erik Lamela has been out since Matchday 4 with a calf injury, while Suso has not featured since the 1-1 draw with Betis on 12 November due to an abductor problem.

Goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland has been sidelined by a thigh injury since a 1-1 draw at Celta Vigo on 4 November.

Marcão has not played since the UEFA Europa League final due to a tear in his quadriceps, although he was an unused substitute for the 2-2 draw against Rayo Vallecano on 7 October before picking up an adductor injury on 27 October.

Now at Al-Hilal, Yassine Bounou finished 13th in the voting for the 2023 Ballon d'Or on 30 October and was third in the Yashin Trophy poll for best goalkeeper.