🏏 Sat, 12 Sep 2026 20:45 CEST
Le Havre AC
vs
Angers SCO
4-3-3 vs 4-2-3-1
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- Le Havre have just one point from three matches and sit 16th. They have lost both home games so far, 0-1 to Monaco and 1-2 to Brest, with their only point coming from a 1-1 draw away at Lyon. Angers are four places above them in 12th on three points from one win and two defeats, so with Monaco already on 10 points from four games, this is a genuinely nervy meeting near the bottom.
- Le Havre start three Japanese players in the same XI. Ayumu Seko, the 26-year-old Japan international who came through Cerezo Osaka and spent time at Grasshopper, anchors the back four; Kaito Mizuta, also 26, lines up in midfield after working his way up through German football with Arminia Bielefeld and Rot-Weiss Essen; and 23-year-old Sota Nakamura leads the press up front.
- Seko is a natural centre-back who is rated highly for his technical quality on the ball and can also play as a holding midfielder. At 185cm he wins duels and delivers long passes off either foot, and here he will be dealing with 188cm Morocco-born forward Amine El Ouazzani. Nakamura, just 168cm, compensates with off-the-ball intelligence and relentless pressing after sweeping the individual awards in Japan's Kanto university league.
- Le Havre's attack carries serious pedigree. Mbwana Samatta, 33, is Tanzania's captain and the first Tanzanian to play in Ligue 1, having won the Belgian golden boot at Genk and later turned out for Aston Villa and Fenerbahçe. Alongside him is Joshua Maja, the 27-year-old Nigeria international who scored 16 with six assists in 38 games for Bordeaux and marked his Premier League debut for Fulham with two goals.
- Angers build through Branco van den Boomen, the 31-year-old Dutchman on loan from Ajax. He helped Toulouse to the Ligue 2 title and, despite standing 188cm, is a genuine technician whose set-piece delivery is among the most accurate in the squad. His partner in the double pivot is Yassin Belkhdim, the 24-year-old academy graduate who leads Angers for assists in 2025-26.
- Both midfields are built on height. Le Havre's Michael Richardson stands 197cm and returned to the club after spells with Stade de Reims, Fiorentina and Copenhagen, using his reach to break up play. Angers counter with the 188cm van den Boomen and keep 189cm Louis Mouton in reserve, so second balls around the halfway line should dictate the tempo of the match.
- Angers' central defensive pair mixes size and experience: 197cm Mali international Ousmane Camara, whose aerial dominance made him a fixture after arriving from Paris FC, and 33-year-old left-footer Jordan Lefort, a veteran of Amiens, Young Boys and Paris FC who reads the game and starts attacks from the back. Le Havre, with only two goals in three games, must find a way through them.
- Anthony Lopes gives Angers an unusual amount of authority in goal. The 35-year-old spent roughly 12 seasons as Lyon's first choice and was part of Portugal's Euro 2016-winning squad, and he remains excellent at close-range saves while being comfortable with the ball at his feet. Le Havre answer with 33-year-old Gallon, so both goalkeepers bring a decade-plus of top-flight experience.
- One flank duel stands out. Le Havre's right-back Elias Jelert, 23, has Champions League experience from Copenhagen and Galatasaray and, at 170cm, relies on acceleration and aggressive pressing. He will be tracking Amine Sbaï, the 25-year-old Moroccan left winger who works the touchline before cutting inside onto his stronger right foot, a route he honed in the French lower leagues and at Grenoble.
- The benches could swing a tight game. Le Havre can bring on 190cm veteran centre-back Vincent Sasso, 35, plus 20-year-old Ismail Bouneb, a France youth international who reached the finals of both the 2023 European Under-17 Championship and the Under-17 World Cup, and 188cm holding midfielder Daren Mosengo. Angers hold Anthony Bermont, the 21-year-old winger named Ligue 2's best young player in 2024-25 while on loan at Annecy.