UECL Preview: New-look Lens head to Greece
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Life for Racing Club de Lens under Will Still is off to a strong start -- Le Sang et Or have won both of their matches in Ligue 1 McDonald's, including a 2-0 win over last year's third-place, Stade Brestois, at the weekend. Now, after having beaten Greek side Panathanaikos 2-1 in the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League Playoffs at home last week, they'll head to Athens hoping to protect that lead.
new faces to the fore
While Lens had the beating of their opponents in the first leg, the second will pose no small challenge to Still and his young side. Lens won the first leg, but finished with ten men, having seen defender Facundo Medina sent off, and will have to make do without the Argentine. Still also looks set to be shorn of Kevin Danso, the Austrian international having been left out of the squad ahead of a mooted move to Roma. To keep the Greek side at bay, he'll put out a new-look defence, albeit with one familiar face. Summer arrival Malang Sarr is expected to replace Medina on the left, while youngster Abdukodir Khusanov will replace Danso centrally.
Speaking to the press pre-match, Gradit averred that despite the absences, the team have faith in Still's methods and their tactical approach. "There's a system that's put in place, game ideas that are put in place by the coach. The players who will replace Fac' and Kev', we have full confidence in them... They had a very good preseason, they're very good players too. We change teammates, but ideas remain the same."
Elsewhere in the side, Lens will be without several options in attack as well -- their two newest signings, Martín Satriano and Anass Zaroury are yet to be registered for the competition, but in striker Florian Sotoca and Wesley Saïd, Still can call on a canny pair of veterans who were both key parts of Lens' run in Europe last season. Their experience -- and that of Gradit -- will be key in what is (as the first leg had been at the Stade Bollaert) likely to be a fiery atmosphere. Said Still, confident despite the prospect of playing in front of a big crowed, "If we're able to play in the Bollaert-Delelis, we can do it in every stadium in the world. There's a crazy atmosphere at our ground and it will a beautiful atmosphere in Panathinaikos. It will be an away game as we played tons of them before.”
As for their opponents, Panathanaikos have had an uneven start to their domestic season. After opening with a 1-0 loss to Asteras Tripolis, they bounced back at the weekend with a dramatic 1-0 win, with the goal coming in the sixth minute of added time, against Levadiakos. To get past Lens, they'll need to score at least two goals, something they've not done in five matches, since the second round of qualifying against Botev Plovdiv. If the confidence of Gradit comes to bear, they're unlikely to change that run, giving Le Sang et Or a fine chance of reaching the league stage of the competition.
Predicted lineup (3-4-1-2): Samba; Gradit, Khusanov, Sarr; Frankowski, Diouf, Fulgini, Machado; Thomasson; Saïd, Sotoca
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