Lille and Lens sit about 40 km apart, and for 80 years that has been close enough. Lille vs Lens on Friday 30 October is the season's first Derby du Nord, kicking off at 21:05 in France (20:05 GMT, 16:05 ET) at the Decathlon Arena - Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Last season both teams won their home derby 3-0. Both have changed coach since, and Lens have changed twice.
Eighty years of the Derby du Nord
The clubs first met in their current form on 11 March 1945, a wartime northern league game played a few months after the liberation, and Lille won 4-0. The cities had already met in 1937 under the Olympique Lillois name. Lille itself only dates from 1944, a merger of Olympique Lillois and SC Fives.
The rivalry was always partly about who you were. Lens is an old working-class industrial town in the Pas-de-Calais, Lille the bigger, more middle-class city in the Nord, and for decades the derby carried that class edge. The crowds are more mixed now, but nobody at Bollaert will tell you the edge has gone.
On the pitch, Lille have had the better of it. Their biggest wins came in 1950 and 1952, both 5-0, and Jean Baratte, the great Lille forward of that era, scored nine derby goals, still the record.
| Meeting | Result |
|---|---|
| First meeting, 11 Mar 1945 | Lille 4-0 Lens |
| Biggest win (1950 and 1952) | Lille 5-0 Lens |
| 2025/26 at Bollaert | Lens 3-0 Lille |
| 2025/26 at Pierre-Mauroy, 4 Apr 2026 | Lille 3-0 Lens |
| All-time, 123 games | Lille 49 wins, 36 draws, Lens 38 wins |
Lille
LensLast season, and what came after
Those two 3-0s sum up 2025/26 nicely. Lens finished second on 70 points, six behind PSG, and then beat Nice 3-1 in May to win the Coupe de France for the first time. In August they beat PSG 1-0 in the Trophée des Champions. Lille were third on 61, and still won the spring derby comfortably.
Then both clubs lost their coaches. Bruno Génésio left Lille by mutual consent in May and moved on to Marseille. Davide Ancelotti, son of Carlo, took over on 1 June. Lens lost Pierre Sage to Crystal Palace, hired Dino Toppmöller, and parted with him on 15 September after five points from four games. Yannick Cahuzac was appointed the same day.
This season so far
Lille have 14 points from seven games and sit fourth, level on points with four other clubs at the top. They won at Angers and Toulouse, beat Troyes and Le Havre at home, and drew 2-2 with PSG after leading until stoppage time. The one league defeat was at Nice. Olivier Giroud, now 40, is one of four players on two league goals, alongside the summer signing Ayase Ueda. Ancelotti has heard criticism that the football is flat even when the results come, and the 1-1 with Brest on 17 October did not help.
Europe has been harder: a 3-2 home defeat to Real Betis, with Ethan Mbappé sent off, and 3-0 at Arsenal.
Lens are eighth on 10 points, but the trend is up. Cahuzac lost his first game 2-1 at Monaco, then beat Lyon 2-1 and Troyes 3-1, Florian Thauvin setting up two against Troyes. Lens have scored 14 league goals, more than Lille's 10, and conceded 11 to Lille's five. That's the matchup in one line: a tight Lille side against a Lens team that keeps games open.
LilleLensPrediction for Lille vs Lens
I'd make Lille slight favourites at home, mainly because their defence has been the steadier of the two and the home side has won the last two derbies by three clear goals. Lens under Cahuzac look a better side than the one Toppmöller left, though, and Thauvin can open up any back line. Lille to win 2-1, and I wouldn't be shocked by a draw.
| # | Team | P | GD | Pts | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  Paris Saint-Germain | 7 | 5 | 14 | WWWWL |
| 3 |  Paris FC | 7 | 5 | 14 | WLWDW |
| 4 |  Lille | 7 | 5 | 14 | DWLWW |
| 5 |  Monaco | 7 | 4 | 14 | LDWDW |
| 6 |  Rennes | 7 | 1 | 13 | LWLWW |
| 7 |  Lorient | 7 | 1 | 11 | WWLDW |
| 8 |  Lens | 7 | 3 | 10 | WWLDL |
| 9 |  Marseille | 7 | 4 | 9 | WWLLL |
| 10 |  Brest | 7 | 3 | 9 | DWLLW |
How to watch the derby
In France, every Ligue 1 game this season is on Ligue 1+, including this one. Outside France, rights vary by country, so check local listings; the official Ligue 1 site has the fixture. This Lille vs Lens derby is also free to watch on DAMITV in HD, with no account needed, via our Ligue 1 streams page. Lille are also in the Champions League this season. The round opens two hours earlier with Le Havre against PSG, and we've written that one up in our Le Havre vs PSG preview.
