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Le Havre
Ligue 1 | Gameweek 4
Sep 3, 2023 at 2pm UK
Stade Oceane
Lorient logo

Le Havre
3 - 0
Lorient

Kuzyaev (53'), Alioui (70'), Mbemba (90+6')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Preview: Le Havre vs. Lorient - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Ligue 1 clash between Le Havre and Lorient, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Newly-promoted Le Havre will attempt to claim their first win of the season when they welcome Lorient to Stade Oceane for Sunday's Ligue 1 encounter.

In contrast to their hosts, Lorient have made an encouraging start to the 2023-24 campaign, collecting five points from their opening three matches.


Match preview

FC Lorient's Romain Faivre reacts on May 21, 2023© Reuters

Le Havre, who are competing in their first Ligue 1 campaign since 2008-09, are still searching for their first win of the season after mustering two points from their opening three games.

After playing out a 2-2 draw with Brest in their season opener, they were beaten by Brest in their first home game of the new campaign.

Luka Elsner's side looked set to fall to another defeat when Rennes surged into a two-goal lead inside the opening 24 minutes, but Le Havre demonstrated the fighting qualities required in a relegation battle to mount a second-half comeback thanks to a Nabil Alioui brace.

While the Le Havre boss may be pleased with the character shown by his side in last weekend's fixture, he will be concerned by the fact that his team have shipped two goals in each of their opening three games.

They will be looking to rediscover their defensive resilience from last term when they conceded just 19 goals from 38 games to help clinch their Ligue 2 title.

Meanwhile, Lorient are hoping to build upon last season's 10th-placed finish, and the early signs are promising for Regis Le Bris and his troops.

After holding champions Paris Saint-Germain to a goalless draw at the Parc des Princes, Lorient added another point to their tally when they played out a 1-1 draw with Nice in their second league outing.

Those two results laid the foundations for Lorient to clinch their first win of the season with a commanding performance over Lille last weekend.

Laurent Abergel and Julien Ponceau found the net to give Lorient a two-goal advantage inside 10 minutes, and while Jonathan David managed to halve the deficit, Romain Faivre and Vincent Le Goff grabbed a goal apiece to wrap up a 4-1 victory.

They are now preparing to face Le Havre in a competitive game for the first time since October 2019, and they will certainly take confidence from the fact that they have avoided defeat in their last four head-to-head meetings (W2, L2).

Le Havre Ligue 1 form:

Lorient Ligue 1 form:


Team News

Le Havre remain without the services of midfielder Oussama Targhalline and forward Josue Casimir due to injury issues.

Samuel Grandsit is suspended following his red card against Rennes, which could open the door for Issa Soumare to return to the lineup.

After opening his account for the season with a brace against Rennes, Alioui will continue to lead the line for Le Havre.

As for the visitors, their absentee list includes Bamba Dieng, Benjamin Mendy, Igor Silva, Aiyegun Tosin, Quentin Boisgard and Ayman Kari.

After cruising to a 4-1 victory over Lille last weekend, Lorient boss Le Bris is expected to name an unchanged lineup.

Tiemoue Bakayoko, who has joined on a free transfer following his Chelsea departure, is lacking match fitness and is unlikely to feature on Sunday.


Le Havre possible starting lineup:
Desmas; Salmier, Sangante, Lloris, Operi; Toure, Kechta; Nego, Kuzyaev, Soumare; Alioui

Lorient possible starting lineup:
Mvogo; F. Mendy, Laporte, Talbi; Kalulu, Abergel, Ponceau, Le Goff; Faivre; Doucoure, Pagis


SM words green background

We say: Le Havre 1-2 Lorient

Le Havre will be hoping to record their first win of the season, but we think that they will be edged out by a confident Lorient side who would have been buoyed by last weekend's 4-1 win over Lille.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 2.5:data


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Written by
Ben Sully

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Game History

How you voted: Le Havre vs Lorient

Le Havre
9.4%
Draw
40.6%
Lorient
50.0%
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Paris Saint-GermainPSG16124044143040
2Marseille1593332181430
3MonacoMonaco1693426161030
4Lille1576225151027
5Lyon157442720725
6Nice156632819924
7Lens156631914524
8Auxerre156362323021
9Toulouse156361717021
10Reims155552018220
11Brest156182427-319
12Rennes155282020017
13StrasbourgStrasbourg154562527-217
14NantesNantes153571724-714
15Angers153481426-1213
16Saint-EtienneSt Etienne1541101234-2213
17Le HavreLe Havre1540111129-1812
18Montpellier HSCMontpellier1523101538-239


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