RC Lens ride home strength into RC Lens trip
RC Lens have won 10 at home against 3 defeats on the road, and sit 7th on 13 points after beating Paris FC 2-1.
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RC Lens are seventh in Ligue 1 with 13 points from 8 matches, and the split behind that total is lopsided. At home they have won 10 and lost 3 across 13 fixtures. Away from home it reads 4 wins, 4 draws and 5 defeats in 13.
The latest result went the right way. On Saturday 24 October they beat Paris FC 2-1 at home on matchday 8, a third straight league win. The form line reads DLWWW, and the current run stands at 3W.
Now the harder part. RC Lens travel to RC Lens on Friday 30 October for matchday 9, and the away record is the one number that has held them back. Four wins in thirteen road games is mid-table stuff. The home record is not.
Goals have not been the problem. 16 scored and 12 conceded gives a goal difference of +4, healthy enough for a side sitting outside the European places. The issue is distribution: the wins cluster in one column.
Look at the table and the gap is small. Stade Rennais lead on 16 points, with Lille on 15 and Monaco on 15. RC Lens are on 13, three behind the top. A single away win closes most of it.
Should a team that wins 10 of 13 at home be seventh? That is the question the next few weeks answer. The away form is the whole argument.
At the other end of the scoring charts, Esteban Lepaul has 7 for Stade Rennais, with Lassine Sinayoko on 6 for Paris FC. No RC Lens player appears in that group.
RC Lens away, then. A ground where the away column either grows or stays exactly where it is.