Montpellier vs Le Havre Prediction: The home side will win the game against the newly promoted side

Le Havre will play in Ligue 1 once more on Sunday when they travel to the Stade de la Mosson to face Montpellier HSC after a 14-year layoff. Le Havre was promoted after winning Ligue 2 the previous season, whereas Montpellier had a lacklustre beginning to 2022–23 but finished the season strongly and placed 12th following a midseason management change.

The Montpellier boss, Michel der Zakarian, will be hoping for better results as the season begins this time to write the wrongs of last season. However, Le  Havre only dropped three games the entire season, which is remarkable, and should give them a lot of momentum.

This will be an intriguing fixture but the home side will win the fixture. 

Given that Montpellier concluded the 2022–23 Ligue 1 season with a record of 15 wins, 5 draws, and 18 defeats, it would not be unjust to call them one of the league's most erratic teams. Only the four relegated clubs experienced more defeats than Montpellier in the previous season, despite the fact that only eight teams had more victories, while Paris Saint-Germain was the only team with fewer draws than the home side.

The home side scored 65 goals in 38 games to finish behind PSG, Monaco, Rennes, Lens, and Marseille in the scoring standings in 2022–23 while ending in 12th place overall.

However, Montpellier struggled to keep the ball out of their own net, giving them the fifth-worst defensive record in the league after giving up 62 goals.

As this will be the first full season for Michel Der Zakarian, he will look to get things going right away this season after losing only four of his 16 games as manager last year.

Le Havre won Ligue 2 in impressive fashion last season, dropping only three of their 38 games to finish three points ahead of Metz in second place and six points within the places needed for immediate promotion. Amazingly, Le Havra went 34 games without losing in the league before suffering back-to-back defeats in May. Nevertheless, they won four points in their final two games to win the championship.

Even better, Arthur Desmas and Mathieu Gorgelin combined to record a league-best 21 clean sheets for the newly promoted side, which allowed only 19 goals in the league last season averaging 0.5 goals per game.

After experiencing the highs of winning the Ligue 2 title, Le Havre was quickly brought back to reality during the preseason. They started their top-flight preparations with a handful of victories before losing five straight games.

Le Havre will be motivated to succeed in Ligue 1 and prevent an immediate drop to the second division after spending 14 consecutive seasons in Ligue 2 and suffering several playoff losses along the way.

Montpellier and Le Havre have faced off 8 times with Montpellier winning 4, Le Havre winning 2 and 2 ending in a draw. 

It is also important to note that Montpellier is undefeated in 7 home games against Le Havre. However, Le Havre's promotion to Ligue 1 was built on strong defence (conceding only 19 goals in Ligue 2). 

Even though Le Havre easily won Ligue 2, their upcoming season in the top division may show to be difficult. They just lack the firepower to score goals, whereas Montpellier closed the previous campaign in fine form by scoring 65 goals, which was more than six teams that finished above them.

Early on in the game, Le Havre's defence should be able to hold out, but Montpellier will most likely score to win the game. Hence, the home will win the game in the second half after a draw in the first half. 

With Montpellier fully attacking and Le Havre defending and playing on the counter, expect over 9.5 corners and over 3.5 cards. 

• W1 at 1.997 odds
• Over 9.5 corners at 1.95 odds
• Over 3.5 cards at 1.8 odds