The increase in performance and decrease in performance that Lens shows in each season is always surprising. Last season they played so well that they could even reach a position that was actually not possible for them to get but this season with a busy schedule and tougher opponents in the Champions League made Lens difficult and this was difficult for them to anticipate.
But even so I will still believe they can return to a better position for Ligue 1 because even for the Champions League they are currently still able to compete but honestly I am quite doubtful they can get through the group phase.
By looking at their current position and their opponents, which only have Sevilla and Ajax as competitors, they can still qualify from the group phase especially by looking at the results in their first three matches in the group phase, I think they can still compete, it just depends on Lens' own focus whether they can stay focused in the Champions League with their conditions in domestic competitions that are not very good because in the end even though this is a different competition but I think performance in domestic competitions can affect them in the Champions League even though it doesn't look like it now but the possibility of this affecting the next 3 matches is also still there.