Le Mans vs Lens

Le Mans welcome Lens to the Stade Marie-Marvingt in Le Mans on Sunday, September 13, for round four of the 2026 Ligue 1 season. The newly promoted hosts are still hunting their first victory of the campaign, while the visitors arrive looking to bounce back from consecutive league defeats.

Le Mans Form Guide: Searching for a Historic Win

Patrick Videira’s Le Mans sit 14th with two points after three matches, having returned to the top flight for the first time since 2010. They opened their campaign with a draw against Brest, followed by a narrow 3-2 defeat to Rennes, and most recently a 1-1 draw away to Nice, where Adil Bourabia opened the scoring in the 13th minute. Despite being winless in their first three outings, the hosts have looked competitive. However, they are still searching for their first top-flight victory in over 16 years. A key outlet for Le Mans has been striker Louis Mafouta, who has already netted three goals this season and emerged as one of the division's most clinical attacking threats.

Lens Looking to Halt the Slide

After a strong start to the season where they scored six goals across their first two matches, Dino Toppmöller's Lens have hit a stumbling block. A 2-1 defeat at Strasbourg marked Toppmöller's first competitive loss in charge, and they followed that up with a frustrating 1-0 home defeat to Lorient last weekend. A 19th-minute goal from Mamadou Koné was enough to sink Lens, who dominated possession but failed to convert their chances. Toppmöller noted that his team spent plenty of time in the opposition half but lacked efficiency in finishing their attacks, a performance that drew boos from the home supporters at the final whistle. The visitors will need more from Florian Thauvin, who has been a bright spark with three goals already this term.

Team News and Injury Latest

Lens arrive in Le Mans with a depleted squad and several selection headaches for their German coach. New signing Yacine Titraoui is expected to spend time on the sidelines after suffering a serious muscle injury against Lorient. Matthieu Udol also limped off with a dead leg and remains a doubt, while defender Souleymane Sagnan is suspended following a second yellow card in the dying moments of the Lorient defeat. Furthermore, Jonathan Gradit is out with a lower leg fracture, joining Jhoanner Chavez, Samson Baidoo, and Regis Gurtner on the absentee list, with Odsonne Edouard and Saud Abdulhamid carrying knocks.

For Le Mans, Videira will be without Samuel Yohou, Nicolas Kocik, and Erwan Colas, all of whom are sidelined through injury.

With Lens preparing for their upcoming UEFA Champions League opener against Slavia Prague just days after this fixture, Toppmöller will need to balance his injury-hit squad carefully. For Le Mans, capitalising on the visitors' defensive absences could be the key to finally ending their 16-year wait for a Ligue 1 victory.