Le Havre vs Brest prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2023-08-19 13:00.
Le Havre marked their return to Ligue 1 after an absence of 14 years with a topsy-turvy affair against Montpellier where they took the lead, then fell behind 2-1 before equalising late on to rescue a point. Getting a point on the board immediately sets things up nicely for their first home game in the top flight since 2009, where their fans will surely be ready to give last term’s Ligue 2 champions a rousing welcome on home turf.
Impressively, Luka Elsner’s side only lost one home league match en route to securing the Ligue 2 crown (W11, D7) and to survive this season, they’ll try to translate the robust form that saw them concede an average of just 0.47 goals per game. That will be difficult, but Le Havre will be quietly confident of starting well against Brest, to whom they haven’t lost here since October 2013 (W3, D4).
Brest produced an even bigger comeback when they bounced back from conceding twice inside the first 25 minutes to beat Lens 3-2, opening their league campaign with a win for the first time since 2014/15. That was also their fourth consecutive Ligue 1 fixture in which both sides scored (W3, L1), hinting at more entertainment to come here.
A final-day success at Marseille capped off Brest’s 2022/23 road trips but prior to that, they hadn’t won any of their previous four such fixtures (D3, L1), leaving the Pirates with an underwhelming league record away from home last term (W4, D6, L9). Unsurprisingly then, they haven’t won their first Ligue 1 away game of the season since 1986/87 (D4, L6), but that victory came against none other than Le Havre!
Players to watch: Le Havre’s hero against Montpellier was ex-Brest player Samuel Grandsir, and his last two strikes for the hosts both arrived after the 85th minute. Romain Del Castillo netted two penalties for Brest against Lens and he has a 100% record from the spot in Ligue 1 action (8/8).
Hot streak: Brest have drawn their last five Ligue 1 away games against promoted sides; four by the same 1-1 scoreline.