For the first time since 2009, Le Havre and Monaco will square in a Ligue 1 fixture on Saturday at Stade Oceane in Normandy.
Le club doyen are seventh in the table following a dramatic 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Toulouse on matchday 11, while Les Monegasques defeated Brest 2-0 as they currently sit third.
Match preview
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It is their first time in the French top-flight since 2008-09, and despite such a long layoff, Le Havre have begun the season well, suffering just three defeats in 11 league contests.
Luka Elsner's side were only a few minutes away from going winless in five successive domestic encounters before an 83rd-minute strike put them on level terms last weekend, as they went on to win the match in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Those two late goals helped them avoid equalling the longest goalless run in Ligue 1 history (five matches between November 1987 and February 1988), with Le Havre failing to find the back of the net in their previous four domestic encounters before that.
Their 12 goals scored in this competition so far are the second-fewest among teams currently in the top half of the table, with the Normandy club failing to score in five of their last seven league fixtures.
Le Havre have claimed five points from a losing position in the second half of a match this season, though their two home triumphs occurred when they scored the opening goal.
Les Ciel et Marine have collected two clean sheets in five domestic home games this season, which is already as many as they had in their previous top-flight campaign.
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Monaco returned to winning ways last weekend, kicking off the month of November with a third successive victory at Stade Louis II.
Before they visited Lille at the end of October, this team had scored 12 goals in their opening four Ligue 1 away matches, but they could not find a way through Les Dogues despite firing six efforts on target.
That was their first defeat as the visitors since the 2023-24 domestic campaign began, while this team did not suffer a second away defeat in this competition last season until matchday 32.
After finishing outside of the top three in Ligue 1 a season ago for the first time since 2019-20, Les Monegasques are back in the hunt for a domestic title, currently just two points behind arch-rivals Nice at the top of the table and well-positioned to return to Europe next season.
Under new manager Adi Hutter, the Principality side have scored the second-most goals in the top flight so far (25), five more than they had at this same stage of the 2022-23 campaign when Philippe Clement was in charge.
They have won seven of their 11 domestic affairs thus far, the most for them at this stage of a Ligue 1 campaign since finishing as runners-up in this competition during the 2017-18 campaign (eight).
Team News
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Oussama Targhalline is expected to miss this encounter for Le Havre due to a muscle injury, as is Christopher Operi, who is dealing with a hamstring strain.
Mohamed Bayo had a brace in the final few minutes of their match against Toulouse, becoming the only player to notch at least a pair of goals with three different clubs (Clermont, Lille and Le Havre) in the previous three Ligue 1 campaigns.
Arthur Desmas has two clean sheets in his last three matches and four for the season, one behind Gianluigi Donnarumma for third in the league.
Les Monegasques were without Mohammed Salisu against Brest as he is suffering from a sore groin, Caio Henrique is out long-term with an ACL injury, Vanderson still has a sprained knee and Eliesse Ben Seghir could miss this match because of a shoulder strain.
Aleksandr Golovin had a goal and an assist in their victory last weekend, setting up the winner by Denis Zakaria, as the Russian has now been involved in seven goals domestically this season, more than any Ligue 1 midfielder.
Philipp Kohn picked up his first clean sheet since early September in their previous encounter, while Wissam Ben Yedder and Folarin Balogun are seeking their first goals since a 3-1 triumph at Reims.
Le Havre possible starting lineup:
Desmas; Salmier, Kinkoue, Lloris; Nego, Kuzyayev, Ndiaye, Kechta; Grandsir, Alioui; Bayo
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Kohn; Singo, Maripan, Magassa; Diatta, Fofana, Zakaria, Jakobs; Golovin; Ben Yedder, Balogun
We say: Le Havre 0-2 Monaco
Monaco have proven to be a versatile side throughout the domestic campaign, and their creative midfielders and consistency in front of goal should be enough to propel them to another away victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
