Marseille welcome Le Havre to the Stade Veledrome on Sunday afternoon for round eight of the 2026-27 Ligue 1 campaign.

In their previous league outing, L’OM claimed an important 5-2 win away to Angers, while Les Ciel et Marine fell to a 3-1 defeat against Auxerre at the Stade Oceane.

Match preview

Having secured their place in European competition for the sixth time in a seven year span last season, finishing fifth in the Ligue 1 table and qualifying for the UEFA Europa League, Marseille will certainly be concerned with how they started their latest top flight campaign.

Despite posting a resounding 4-0 victory against Strasbourg on the first weekend of the season, their largest margin of victory since beating Lorient by the same scoreline in September 2025, L’OM lost each of their next five league matches to sit second-bottom of the division heading into the September international break.

Bruno Genesio’s men have not just struggled in Ligue 1 but also in their UEFA Europa League campaign too, having followed up a thumping loss to Besiktas in their opening clash by falling to defeat against both Olympiacos and Sturm Graz in recent weeks, leaving them a dismal 34th in the league phase table.

However, Marseille looked to have turned their league fortunes around in recent weeks as after ending their losing streak by beating Troyes 2-0 a fortnight ago, L’OM put five past Angers at the Stade Raymond-Kopa on Sunday afternoon to climb to ninth in the table and now trail league leaders Lyon by only five points.

Looking to continue their promising rebound this weekend when they face Le Havre, who they have beaten in each of the previous 12 meetings between the sides, Marseille will be confident that they can claim their third consecutive Ligue 1 win and edge closer towards the division’s European qualification places.

After narrowly avoiding the drop to Ligue 2 once again last season, claiming a 2-0 win away to Lorient on the final day to finish just three points above Nice in the relegation playoff place, Le Havre look almost certain to be in for a similar fight in the 2026-27 campaign.

Earning just two points from their seven league fixtures so far, Didier Digard’s men are the only side in the division that are yet to win a match and as a result find themselves at the foot of the table, with a five point gap to Angers outside the relegation zone.

Only netting more goals than Nantes and Angers last season, Les Ciel et Marine’s biggest issue has once again undoubtedly been their potency in attack this campaign, with Sunday’s visitors sitting on only five strikes, the lowest in the division alongside Troyes.

Facing a Marseille side that they have also scored against just seven times in the latest 12 meetings between the sides, conceding 35 over that stretch, Le Havre will certainly need a much improved performance in front of goal if they are to get anything out of this weekend’s match.

Marseille Ligue 1 form:

Marseille form (all competitions):

Le Havre Ligue 1 form:

Team News

After picking up a hip injury earlier this month, 28-year-old Canadian Derek Cornelius is likely to be unavailable for the remainder of the year for Marseille, while fellow defender Alexi Koum Mbondo is a doubt with an illness.

Although he has been training with the remainder of the squad over the previous couple of weeks, Cameroonian forward Faris Moumbagna is a doubt for the hosts this weekend having missed their previous two matches.

Netting five league goals so far this season, including a rebounded penalty in last weekend’s trip to Angers, Algerian forward Amine Gouiri currently sits third in the Ligue 1 scoring charts and has undoubtedly been L’OM’s biggest attacking threat during the 2026-27 campaign.

Le Havre are without both Swiss forward Felix Mambimbi and goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi-Nzau for the foreseeable future as the pair continue their recovery from Achilles tendon issues.

With Stephan Zagadou, Elias Jelert and Timothee Pembele all sidelined, Les Ciel et Marine’s biggest problem is certainly their defensive options, though both Jelert and Pembele are expected to return in the coming weeks.

Le Havre’s lengthy injury list is rounded off by Abdoulaye Toure, who has not featured since the visitors’ 3-0 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in November 2025 and does not yet have a set return date.

Marseille possible starting lineup:

De Lange; Weah, Egan-Riley, Kondogbia, Emerson; Nnadi, Kamissoko; Harit, Abdelli, Paixo; Gouiri

Le Havre possible starting lineup:

Gallon; Ouziad, Mwanga, Touba, N'Diaye; Ndiaye, Ebonog, Richardson; Nakamura, Maja, Samatta

We say: Marseille 3-0 Le Havre

With Marseille enduring a slow start to their campaign, Sunday’s clash could be Le Havre’s best opportunity yet to post their maiden win of the season and claim a first ever victory at the Stade Velodrome.

However, despite a pair of dismal European performances, Marseille have been much improved in recent weeks and we are backing them to win their third Ligue 1 match on the trot this weekend.

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