Lyon have had an exciting week, but the hardest is yet to come. The fight for a place in the Champions League will continue until the end of the season and the win over Le Havre, who are fighting for survival, is a must.
Lyon's form has not stopped improving, with the team qualifying without problems for the next stage of the Europa League, where they will meet Manchester United. There are a few weeks until then, allowing for more focus on improving their position in Ligue 1, where Lyon are significantly behind. The Kids are in 6th place, but after this round, they may have moved up because they have the “easiest” game of all teams in the fight for the Top 3.
It will be quite interesting to follow Lyon in the coming weeks and months because the team will be without their manager for nine whole months. Paulo Fonseca got banned after his excesses with the referee at the end of the Brest match. His assistant Jorge Maciel has started well replacing him, but it remains to be seen if the team will continue doing so well without their manager.
Le Havre survived their first campaign in the elite, but whether they will achieve it again this season is questionable. The team has been in the relegation zone for quite some time, but their performance has definitely improved in recent weeks. Their form is better than the teams above them and it is quite possible that we will see them out of the danger zone soon.
The interesting thing about Le Havre is that most of their good games this season have been away from home. Instead, they are the weakest home side in the league. Importantly, they haven't lost any of their last four away games, so the Lyon clash will be more intriguing than you'd expect.
How the bookies view it: Overwhelming home advantage
Bookmakers predict an easy match for the hosts, giving them a huge edge in the odds. You can pick Lyon at 7/20, the draw at 9/2, or the unexpected win for the visitors at 6/1.
Recent head-to-head: Lyon struggled in the past
Until a year ago, Lyon and Le Havre hadn't met since 2009, when the visitors were last in Ligue 1. And it was rather interesting that the Kids didn't win either of the two games last season. In one of the clashes, Le Havre took a 3-1 win. But the most important result remains from the first game this season, which Lyon won 0-4 as guests.
Players to watch: An opportunity for Lacazette to reach double figures
Alexandre Lacazette is definitely not in his best form and is going through his weakest season with Lyon. In the past two seasons, he scored 27 and 19 goals in Ligue 1, and in this one, he has just nine. Le Havre are the perfect target to reach double figures in league goals and we expect him to do his best.
Probable line-ups:
Lyon: Perri, Tagliafico, Niakhate, Mata, Kumbedi, Tessmann, Matic, Fofana, Tolisso, Nuamah, Lacazette
Le Havre: Gorgelin, Zouaoui, Lloris, Kinkoue, Nego, Toure, Diawara, Casimir, Kechta, Soumare, Hassa
Anything else catch the eye?
We haven't seen Lyon in such strong form since December last year. The start of 2025 has been pretty poor for the Kids, which is why they have fallen behind in the fight for the top spots in the league. Importantly, Lyon won six of their last seven games in all competitions, with their only loss coming to PSG as expected.
Lyon scored at least two goals in their last eight games and we certainly expect them to continue their streak against Le Havre. The fact is that the visitors are making progress and have not lost away from home since mid-January. But they didn't meet any of the league's big teams in that period either. Lyon will win this game and it will probably be by an emphatic scoreline.
This French Ligue 1 match between Lyon and Le Havre will be played on and kick off at 14:00. Check below for our tipsters best Lyon vs Le Havre prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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