Sports Mole previews Saturday's Ligue 1 clash between Marseille and Le Havre, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Seeking a fifth straight victory on their return from the international break - both in Ligue 1 alone and across all competitions - Marseille host Le Havre at the Orange Velodrome on Saturday.
Roberto De Zerbi's men are already giving perpetual champions Paris Saint-Germain an excellent run for their money, while the visitors were the stalemate specialists before the October hiatus.
Match preview
Not since Lille's unforeseen success in the 2020-21 season has the balance of power in French football shifted, but Marseille are among a trio of teams already posing a serious threat to PSG's crown, alongside fellow 15-pointers Strasbourg and Lyon.
Following an underwhelming start to 2025-26 - in which two of their first three top-flight matches ended in defeat - Les Olympiens strung together a four-game Ligue 1 winning sequence before the break, a run that included a statement success over none other than PSG in Le Classique.
De Zerbi's in-form charges have also taken down high-flying Strasbourg, Lorient and most recently Metz as the nights draw in, easing past the latter 3-0 before the international break thanks to goals from Igor Paixao, Matt O'Riley and Amine Gouiri.
Boasting the best goal difference in the league with a +10 record, Marseille occupy second place in the Ligue 1 standings at the time of writing - just one point adrift of PSG - but the holders can temporarily move out of sight by beating third-placed Strasbourg on Friday.
However, few should bet against Marseille to immediately rein Luis Enrique's men back in, especially as they have won a stellar seven straight home games in the French top flight - their best such run since prevailing in 11 in a row from 2014 to 2015.
Upcoming opponents Le Havre were an inconsistent Ligue 2 side back then, but Saturday's visitors are now revelling in a third successive season of top-flight football after back-to-back 15th-placed finishes since promotion in 2023.
Another fight to avoid the drop has already materialised for Didier Digard's men this season, as the 14th-placed Ciel et Marine are only leading 16th-placed Auxerre - who sit in the relegation playoff spot - on goal difference, while just one point separates them from 17th-placed Angers.
However, a spate of stalemates has helped Le Havre keep their heads above water in recent weeks, as the visitors have shared the spoils with Lorient (1-1), Metz (0-0) and most recently Rennes (2-2) over the past three gameweeks, coming back from 2-0 down to hold the latter.
Having also seen off Nice 3-1 at the end of August, Le Havre have only been bested in one of their last five Ligue 1 games - which came away to title hopefuls Strasbourg - although the attacking statistics do not make for pleasant reading for the Doyen faithful.
Indeed, Digard's men have failed to score in both of their last Ligue 1 away games, have just one goal on the road all season - the joint-worst record in the league - and are on an abysmal nine-match losing run against Marseille in the top flight.
Marseille Ligue 1 form:
W
L
W
W
W
W
Marseille form (all competitions):
W
L
W
W
W
W
Le Havre Ligue 1 form:
L
W
L
D
D
D
Team News
Marseille's medical staff will have to conduct once-overs on the club's international stars, especially those who have embarked on exhausting transatlantic crossings in Timothy Weah (USA), Leonardo Balerdi, Geronimo Rulli (both Argentina) and Amir Murillo (Panama).
The hosts may already be missing Facundo Medina (ankle), Geoffrey Kondogbia (calf) and Hamed Traore (dead leg) for the visit of Le Havre, while 18-year-old attacker Robinio Vaz came off with an unspecified issue in the beating of Metz.
Amine Gouiri replaced his teenage colleague in that fixture, but the veteran Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - who is loving life in Marseille with four goals and three assists from seven games so far this season - will surely come into contention for a starting role here.
As Les Olympiens also face a Champions League trip to Sporting Lisbon next Wednesday, De Zerbi may consider one or two unenforced alterations to his XI, potentially benefitting the likes of midfield starlet Arthur Vermeeren.
On Le Havre's end, Digard has received a welcome boost on the fitness front, as experienced midfielder Abdoulaye Toure recovered from a knock to represent Guinea during the international break.
However, the stricken quartet of Thomas Delaine (muscle), Reda Khadra (knee), Elysse Logbo (shoulder) and former Aston Villa striker Ally Samatta (muscle) are out of contention for the visitors.
Digard is nevertheless well-stocked in the heart of defence, where Gautier Lloris - the brother of legendary goalkeeper Hugo Lloris - should partner captain Arouna Sangante.
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Weah, Pavard, Aguerd, Emerson; O'Riley, Vermeeren; Greenwood, Gomes, Paixao; Aubameyang
Le Havre possible starting lineup:
Diaw; Nego, Sangante, Lloris, Zouaoui; Ndiaye, Seko, Kechta; Namli, Soumare, Mambimbi
We say: Marseille 3-0 Le Havre
Marseille's nine-game winning streak against Le Havre in Ligue 1 is their longest-ever sequence of victories against a single opponent in the competition, and Les Olympiens should have minimal difficulty extending that club-record run to 10.
Digard's troops have developed a resilient streak in recent weeks, but goals on the road have been hard to come by, so Marseille ought to prolong their triumphant streak at the expense of the visitors' unbeaten one.
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