Le Havre v PSG – Spotlight on Le Havre: survival in Ligue 1 on a shoestring | OneFootball

This Saturday, February 28, Paris Saint-Germain (1st) faces Le Havre (13th) at the Stade Océane (kick-off at 9:05 p.m., broadcast on Ligue1+) during the 24th matchday of Ligue 1 2025-2026. And as before every match, here is the presentation of PSG’s opponent.

The situation of Le Havre –

Le Havre was promoted to Ligue 1 in the summer of 2023 after largely dominating Ligue 2 in 2022/2023, following more than 10 years away from the top flight. Since then, this club has been fighting to stay up despite a rather limited budget.

This has been achieved thanks to excellent work, notably from Matthieu Bodmer, a former PSG player who has become the sporting director. There is also coach Didier Digard, also a former Parisian midfielder, who has been in charge since 2024 after replacing Luka Elsner.

Last season was tough, with a 15th place finish. This year, Le Havre is logically aiming to stay up again, if possible without being so close to the relegation zone. They are off to a good start with 13th place and a 9-point lead over the playoff spot (16th, Auxerre). Even though there is still a lot to do with 11 matchdays remaining. But it’s already very promising when you consider that the transfer window was conducted with almost no transfer fees.

Summer transfer window 2025 –

Source: Transfermarkt.

Departures:

Arrivals:

Winter transfer window 2025-2026 –

Source: Transfermarkt.

Departures:

Arrivals:

Main statistics –

This season, Le Havre has the 17th best attack in Ligue 1 with 20 goals scored (the leader, PSG, has 52, and the last, Auxerre, has 17), and has the 6th best defense with 29 goals conceded (PSG has the best defense with 19 goals conceded and the last, Metz, has 50).

The top scorer for Le Havre is Issa Soumaré (25-year-old winger), with 6 goals, ranking 19th in the league (Mason Greenwood is 1st with 14 goals). Rassoul Ndiaye (24-year-old midfielder) is Le Havre’s top assist provider with 2 assists, ranking 91st in Ligue 1 (Adrien Thomasson is first with 7 assists). It should be noted that Sofiane Boufal (32-year-old attacking midfielder) also already has 2 assists since his arrival this winter in 312 minutes, but he is ranked 93rd (probably because both assists came from set pieces).

Le Havre’s last 5 matches –

Only Le Havre’s possession is indicated and Le Havre’s shots are listed first (when data is available).

24/01/2026 (Ligue 1) – Le Havre/Monaco: 0-0. In 4-3-1-2. 46% possession. 7 shots with 1 on target vs 10 shots (2 on target).

30/01/2026 (Ligue 1) – Lens/Le Havre: 1-0. In 3-4-1-2. 46% possession. 8 shots with 2 on target vs 15 shots (3 on target).

08/02/2026 (Ligue 1) – Le Havre/Strasbourg (down to 10 men in the 29th minute, 1-0): 2-1. In 4-3-3. 51% possession. 15 shots with 7 on target vs 10 shots (3 on target).

15/02/2026 (Ligue 1) – Le Havre (down to 10 men in the 2nd minute, 0-0)/Toulouse: 2-1. In 3-1-4-2. 33% possession. 5 shots with 2 on target vs 25 shots (9 on target).

22/02/2026 (Ligue 1) – Nantes/Le Havre: 2-0. In 4-3-3. 71% possession. 6 shots with 3 on target vs 9 shots (2 on target)

The team according to the press in 5-3-2 (L’Equipe):

Soumaré – Boufal

Ndiaye – Gouma-Douath – Ebonog

Koffi – Lloris – Zagadou – Pembélé – Doucouré

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Le Havre’s style of play.

Le Havre stands out notably for its ability to change tactical formations while often maintaining solid defensive organization. There is a desire to impose an aggressive block on the opponent, without necessarily seeking to keep possession afterwards. The main difficulty is in attack, even if some transitions are dangerous. The scenario seems clear for PSG, who will need to be patient, set the tempo, and stay focused.

Be careful, Didier Digard may try a high pressing approach, at least at times. This comes with a player setup that is hard to predict. At the very least, coach Luis Enrique pushes his team to be able to adapt to all situations.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.