Havre vs Nice Prediction 31 August 2025
π Can Nice build on their recent Ligue 1 success in the second round against Le Havre? The last victory for the Normans at the Stade OcΓ©ane dates back to March. The "Gymnasts" were also on a losing streak until recently, but they managed to break the cycle of setbacks that kept them out of the Champions League. We're set for a clash between teams with contrasting objectives in this season's championship. Such matches are often full of surprises. But how will these opponents perform at the start of the season when dropped points don't yet feel too significant? Let's attempt to predict the outcome in our insightful analysis.
Head-to-Head
π Since Le Havre's promotion in 2023, the future opponents have faced off in four matches. Nice hold the upper hand with a 3:1 advantage in victories. Two of those encounters ended with the same scoreline, with each side claiming victory once.
Head-to-head statistics Havre - Nice
Havre Team Overview
π΅ Le Havre's string of misfortunes stretches back to their summer preseason, where the Normandy side failed to win any of their five matches, scoring only once against Paris FC. The start of the season hasn't seen an improvement in results, although their scoring has slightly increased with two goals in two losses. In the first round, Le Havre visited Monaco and were outclassed both in scoreline (1-3) and statistics, with 26% to 74% possession and 0.43 to 1.71 in xG. In their home game against Lens (1-2), Didier Digard's men didn't appear as doomed: they outshot their opponents by threefold and nearly doubled them in expected goals.
βͺ With limited resources, Le Havre spent the summer offseason focusing on salaries for free agents, whose level mostly aligns with Ligue 2 or leagues outside the top five. Nonetheless, even among them, there were some capable players for the French elite. In the match against Lens, former second-division Red Star defender FodΓ© DoucourΓ© stood out. The Malian not only scored a goal but also earned the Man of the Match award despite his team's loss.
Match Results: Havre
Nice Team Overview
β« Nice's official season kicked off with two defeats in the Champions League against Benfica (both 0-2). Their first victory came in the second round of Ligue 1, where they overcame Auxerre with a 3-1 scoreline. The visitors' loss was largely sealed by a red card, but even before that, the "Gymnasts" had taken the lead in the first half while both teams were at full strength. The dynamics were quite different in their first encounter against Toulouse. Franck Haise's side played a much weaker first half compared to their opponents, but the injustice struck in the second half - despite having a threefold advantage in expected goals (0.9 xG to 0.3 xG), Nice conceded a goal in the dying moments of the match on the 89th minute.
π΄ Following the departure of the club's top scorer Evann Guessand to the Premier League, Terem Moffi and JΓ©rΓ©mie Boga have shared the goal-scoring responsibilities, each netting in the victory over Auxerre. Moffi's return was particularly symbolic - he had already shown high scoring prowess for Nice (11 goals in the 2023/24 season) but played only five games last year due to an ACL tear. Notably, both strikers were assisted by young talent Tom Loche. He became a key starter last season and has already started four times across all competitions this season.
Match Results: Nice
Latest news
Havre
β In the upcoming match, the club's newcomer Thoma Delain will be unavailable. After an unremarkable stint at Strasbourg, where he missed almost the entire last season (playing only 2 matches), the defender has once again been sidelined with an injury following two preseason appearances for Le Havre. However, according to Didier Digard, the experienced 33-year-old can at least hope to be included in the squad for the third-round clash against Nice.
Nice
β The injury crisis at Nice has been ongoing since the end of last season. Still sidelined are Tanguy Ndombele, Youssouf Ndayishimiye, Mohamed Abdel Monem, and Mohamed-Ali Cho. During preseason, Moise Bombito and Ali Abdi joined the list of absentees-none of these players will be available for the "Gymnasts" in their third round. However, the injuries to experienced players Dante and Morgan Sanson in the first match against Benfica were not as serious, and the coach can count on them this Sunday.
π¨ Referee and Yellow Cards
The referee for the match is JΓ©rΓ΄me Brisard. This season, he has officiated two Europa Conference League matches and the controversial Ligue 1 clash between Lorient and Rennes, where he handed out two red cards to the visitors and six yellow cards to the hosts. In each of his European matches, the French referee issued four yellow cards, which aligns with his typical style-his average number of cautions over the last 20 league games is 4.1.
When facing teams of similar strength, both clubs have engaged in highly competitive matches, earning at least four cautions combined. The exceptions were against Monaco and Benfica, where the higher-caliber opponents simply didn't allow Le Havre and Nice much possession. At Stade OcΓ©ane, we anticipate no team will dominate possession completely, leading to a midfield battle. A bet on over 3 total yellow cards seems well-founded under these circumstances.
β½οΈ Goal Prediction
The total goals in Nice's last 10 matches are noticeably lower than Le Havre's: 3.7 compared to 2.9. This can be attributed to the organized defense of "Les Aiglons," who were the third-best defensive team in the league last season. Le Havre, on the other hand, had the opposite result from the bottom of the table. However, this season we are seeing consistent expected goals figures that are reflected in their execution. Additionally, Nice have conceded in 11 consecutive away matches. We believe there's a strong case for betting on both teams to score (yes).
π© Corner Prediction
Nice show no regard for the class of their opponents when it comes to earning corner kicks: they average six corners over four matches. Le Havre show a similar pattern, albeit with a slightly smaller sample-5.5 corners against Monaco and Lens. Both teams frequently rely on set pieces in the opposition's half: Nice have a target man in Terem Moffi, while for Le Havre, it's one of their few chances to capitalize on their rare attacks. We expect both teams to stick to their strengths and collectively earn over 8.5 corners.
Editorial Prediction
Bookmakers are understandably leaning towards the visitors, who have already taken steps to recover from their early-season struggles. The "Gymnasts" have delivered two consistent performances, maintaining a certain level of play throughout-despite the loss to Toulouse, which went against the run of play in the second half, and they at least deserved a draw under Frank Haise's guidance. Le Havre, in contrast to last season, appear more formidable at home this year and can put up a strong fight against teams not significantly above their current level. Giving credit to the hosts, we believe they will manage to score, but as seen in their match against Lens, it won't be enough to secure points-the game will be evenly contested at times but will end in a 2-1 defeat for them. Our editorial team suggests that a bet on Nice to win with a (0) handicap seems the most plausible outcome here.No comments
Betting Tips: Havre - Nice
in 12 of last 13 home games (Ligue 1).
in 24 of last 25 games.in 23 of last 24 games (Ligue 1).in 22 of last 23 home games (Ligue 1).in 12 of last 13 away games (Ligue 1).in last 8 Havre home games (Ligue 1).in 24 of last 26 Nice games (Ligue 1).in 20 of last 22 Nice games.in last 11 Nice away games (Ligue 1).in last 9 Nice away games.
in 19 of last 20 Jerome Brisard games.in last 17 games (Ligue 1).in last 8 home games (Ligue 1).in last 11 away games (Ligue 1).
Comparison of Teams Stats
Other predictions
