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

For the first time in over two years, Lorient will pay a visit to Stade Oceane in Normandy for a date with Le Havre on matchday five of the Ligue 1 season on Sunday.

These teams each have three points after four games, with Les Ciel et Marine sitting 13th after a 1-0 defeat at Strasbourg and Lorient three places below them, losing their previous match 4-0 to Marseille.

Match preview

Late drama on matchday four saw a solid Le Havre defensive performance wasted as Didier Digard’s men conceded the winner in second-half stoppage time.

Should they suffer another defeat this weekend it would mark their worst start to a Ligue 1 season in the 21st century after five matches, surpassing the 2008-09 squad that claimed just four points from their first five league fixtures.

On Sunday, they have a chance to win consecutive home games in this competition for the first time since the 2023-24 season, defeating Nice in their previous encounter in Normandy last month (3-1).

Le Havre have conceded at least one goal in 14 successive Ligue 1 home contests, the longest run among teams in Europe’s Big Five leagues and the longest in their top-flight history.

Four of their seven goals conceded domestically this season have come in the final 45 minutes, while they have netted only twice in the opening half.

Le Club Doyen have scored three times in their previous two domestic meetings with Lorient, winning 3-0 the last time they hosted them in 2023.

Since hammering Rennes 4-0 on matchday two, Lorient have gotten a taste of what that feels like over their previous two league fixtures.

Olivier Pantaloni’s side have lost their last two matches in this competition by a combined margin of 11-1, while conceding a league-high 12 goals so far, their most ever at this stage of a Ligue 1 season.

Lorient have not found the back of the net in a top-flight away match since May 2024, when they were beaten 3-1 by Marseille and were eventually relegated to Ligue 2 at the end of that campaign.

They are on a six-match losing run as the visitors in the top-flight and have not won away from home in this competition since defeating Rennes 2-1 in March 2024.

This team have won their last two Ligue 1 affairs when netting in the opening half and have not lost when doing so since April 2024 (2-1 defeat versus Toulouse).

While they have not been sharp defensively against Le Havre, Les Merlus have points in two of their previous three visits to Stade Oceane, with their last victory in Normandy occurring in a 2019 Ligue 2 affair (3-2).

Le Havre Ligue 1 form:

Lorient Ligue 1 form:

Team News

In their defeat last weekend, Le Havre were missing Andy Logbo, who sat out with a shoulder injury and will be questionable on Sunday as well.

From matchday three to four, they made just one change to their starting 11, bringing in Abdoulaye Toure to replace Ayumu Seko.

On the Lorient side, Bandiougou Fadiga and Nathaniel Adjei were sidelined in their previous match with ankle issues, while Panos Katseris did not feature due to a sore thigh.

Pablo Pagis had a calf strain in that encounter, and Darlin Yongwa will miss this upcoming game through suspension after being red-carded in the early stages against Marseille.

Le Havre possible starting lineup:

Diaw; Nego, Sangante, Lloris, Zouaoui; Seko; Doucoure, Kechta, Ndiaye, Soumare; Samatta

Lorient possible starting lineup:

Mvogo; Meite, Talbi, Faye; Le Bris, Cadiou, Abergel, Kouassi, Makengo, Karim; Soumano

We say: Le Havre 2-0 Lorient

Le Havre do not have the firepower of a Lille or Marseille, but they have enough attacking pieces to trouble a Lorient side that seem to find themselves on the back foot all the time unless they have a man advantage.

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