Preview: Ipswich Town vs Le Havre - prediction, team news, lineups

Ipswich Town welcome Ligue 1 outfit Le Havre to Portman Road on Tuesday evening for their latest club friendly fixture this summer.

In their previous contest, the Tractor Boys claimed a 2-1 victory away to Wycombe Wanderers, while Les Ciel et Marine drew 1-1 with Ligue 2 side Stade Lavallois Mayenne.

Match preview

Following relegation from the Premier League in the 2024-25 campaign, finishing 19th with only 22 points from their 38 matches, Ipswich impressively bounced back in the Championship last season.

Despite losing key players such as Liam Delap, Omari Hutchinson and Nathan Broadhead after facing the drop, the Tractor Boys secured automatic promotion back to England’s top flight at the first time of asking, beating Millwall to second place by a singular point.

However, despite immediately leading them back to the Premier League, Kieran McKenna announced in June that he was stepping down as Ipswich boss in order to take a break from football and spend more time with his family.

In his place, signing a three-year deal that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2029, former Wolves and Bournemouth head coach Gary O’Neill has been appointed, though the 43-year-old has not endured the best start to life in Suffolk, losing two of his first three matches in charge.

Although they have never before faced Le Havre, Ipswich maintain a strong record against French opposition, most recently beating AJ Auxerre 3-0 in a friendly last season and O’Neill will certainly be looking to respond with consecutive victories by continuing that streak on Tuesday.

Finishing three points above the Ligue 1 relegation playoff spot in the 2025-26 season, Le Havre narrowly avoided the drop for the third consecutive campaign since winning promotion in 2023.

Enduring a rocky patch in the early spring, earning only one point over a five game period, it looked as though Les Ciel et Marine’s race was run in the top flight, but with just one loss in their last seven fixtures, including a crucial 2-0 victory away to Lorient on the final day, Le Havre secured their status for another year.

As they prepare for yet another year atop the French football pyramid, Didier Digard’s men have had a mixed bag of pre season results against Ligue 2 sides, losing to Amiens, beating Red Star and most recently drawing with Laval.

Although they have never faced English opposition in a competitive fixture, Le Havre did claim a 2-0 victory against now Premier League opposition Brighton & Hove Albion in a friendly fixture when the Seagulls were competing in League One over 20 years ago.

Ipswich Town Club Friendly form:

Le Havre Club Friendly form:

Team News

Ipswich will be without a host of personnel for Tuesday's clash, with Azor Matusiwa and Jack Taylor recovering from surgery, while Harry Clarke continues his rehabilitation from a knee tendon issue.

It remains to be seen whether either Daizen Maeda or Kjell Scherpen will feature, with both players having signed for the club over the previous week.

After competing for Senegal in the World Cup, goalkeeper Mory Diaw is back in training for Le Havre and has the chance to start at Portman Road.

Following his contract expiring at West Bromwich Albion, the French side will also be looking include Nigerian forward Josh Maja in the squad, having signed for the club on Saturday.

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:

Palmer; Johnson, O'Shea, Kipre, Davis; Nunez, Humphreys, Clarke; Burns, Akpom, Emersonn

Le Havre possible starting lineup:

Diaw; Camara, Pembele, Lloris, Vinette; Ndiaye, Bodmer, Kechta; Mizuta, Samatta, Vinette

We say: Ipswich Town 2-1 Le Havre

With some promising summer signings, Ipswich will be hoping that they can stake a stronger claim at surviving in the Premier League this season than they did last time around.

Having bounced back from their opening friendly defeat to Amiens, Le Havre will certainly be no pushovers, but we expect the Tractor Boys to come out on top at Portman Road on Tuesday evening

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