🏏 Sun, 18 Oct 2026 17:15 CEST
Le Havre AC
vs
AJ Auxerre
4-3-3 vs 3-4-2-1
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- A genuine six-pointer at the bottom of Ligue 1: Le Havre sit 18th and last on two points from six games, still without a win (0W 2D 4L), while Auxerre are 16th on six points from an all-or-nothing 2W 0D 4L record. Only four points separate them, with Troyes 17th on four, so the shape of the relegation zone can change entirely in 90 minutes. Leaders Paris Saint-Germain are already on 14.
- The two sides are broken in opposite ways. Le Havre have conceded only eight in six rounds but scored just four, an average of 0.67 per game that explains the winless start. Auxerre have managed eight goals yet shipped 16, leaving them on a goal difference of minus eight. Whichever flaw surfaces first — the hosts' blunt attack or the visitors' leaky defence — should decide this.
- Japan's Sota Nakamura starts in Le Havre's front three. The 24-year-old arrived from Sanfrecce Hiroshima after a university career at Meiji where he swept the Kanto League's top scorer, top assister and MVP awards. At 168cm he is not going to win duels in the air, but his off-the-ball movement and speed of decision-making make him a nuisance, and he leads the first line of the press.
- His strike partners carry serious mileage. Mbwana Samatta, 33, is Tanzania's captain and the first Tanzanian to play in Ligue 1, a centre-forward who won the Belgian golden boot at Genk and later played for Aston Villa and Fenerbahce. Josh Maja, 27 and a Nigeria international, scored 16 goals with six assists in 38 Ligue 2 games for Bordeaux and announced himself in the Premier League with a brace on debut for Fulham.
- Auxerre build around Cameron Archer up front. The 24-year-old came through Aston Villa's academy, won the 2023 UEFA Under-21 European Championship with England and cost Southampton a reported £15m, and his pace in behind is the obvious outlet. Just off him, Danny Namaso — 26 and a Cameroon international — brings 14 goals and ten assists from his Porto first-team spell, cutting inside from the left despite being right-footed.
- The other man in the hole is Romain Faivre, on loan from Bournemouth. The left-footed 28-year-old playmaker once commanded a €15m move from Brest to Lyon and has since taken in Monaco, Lorient and Al-Taawoun, and his dribbling and ability to hold the ball under pressure are among the best on show here. How aggressively Le Havre's midfield closes the space in front of their back four will shape the game.
- The central battle is the most even part of the pitch. Le Havre have the 197cm Mikael Richardson, back at the club after Fiorentina and Copenhagen, using his reach to screen, alongside Rassoul Ndiaye, the 24-year-old Sochaux product who combines ball-winning with distribution. Auxerre counter with Naouirou Ahamada, a 24-year-old Juventus academy graduate who has played for Rennes and Crystal Palace, and Kevin Danois, the 22-year-old from Guadeloupe whose market value already tops the squad.
- Auxerre's back three arrives wounded, having been taken apart 4-1 at Rennes last time out. Axel Tuanzebe, 28, is the Manchester United academy product who went up with Ipswich and can cover centre-back or right-back, while Christo Makosso is a 192cm Congo international who was named Luton Town's Young Player of the Year. Their aerial duels with Samatta and Maja could be decisive.
- Recent form points in different directions. Le Havre have lost their last two, both away and both by a single goal — 3-2 at Toulouse and 1-0 at Lille — so the performances are not far off. Auxerre, meanwhile, won back-to-back home games against Nice (1-0) and Brest (2-1) before that heavy night in Rennes, and have yet to draw a single match this season.
- There is a second Japanese name in the Le Havre squad. Kaito Mizuta, a 26-year-old 182cm midfielder, worked his way up through the German lower leagues with Straelen, Arminia Bielefeld and Rot-Weiss Essen before his move to France. With Mizuta on the bench and Nakamura starting, the bottom club have two Japanese players in the matchday squad as they chase a first win.