Le Havre vs PSG Predictions

• PSG finished unbeaten on their travels in Ligue 1 last season (W13, D4).
• Le Havre finished just three points above the drop zone.
• These sides drew 3-3 in Paris in April.

PSG begin life without Mbappe

The new Ligue 1 season gets underway this weekend and champions Paris Saint-Germain are in action on Friday night as they head to Le Havre.

It is the start of a new era for the Parisians following Kylian Mbappe’s move to Real Madrid. They have made a few new signings themselves over the summer but have resisted the urge to splurge on a replacement superstar, signalling the beginning of a new way of operating for the ambitious French outfit.

The league title will probably still end up in Paris at the end of the season but they may not be quite so dominant without Mbappe, who topped the scoring charts with 27 goals last term. However, they should still be able to cope with Le Havre on Friday even if they do need a period to adjust.

Goals the starting point

PSG look likely winners but they are a short price to do so, so the better option for our main bet is over 2.5 goals.

These sides played out a 3-3 draw in the French capital in April (another reason why PSG don’t look that attractive as heavy favourites), while over 2.5 goals landed in five of the visitors’ last six Ligue 1 games last season and in three of Le Havre’s last four.

A 3-1 win for the away side is the correct score pick as PSG scored on average over two goals per-game away from home last year. Scoring was an issue for Le Havre last season as they managed just 34 goals in as many games, but they did improve in the final few weeks and managed strikes against PSG and Marseille in their final four games – so they may be able to add to the goals tally here.

Goncalo Ramos has a bigger role to play for PSG following Mbappe’s exit and he looks a reasonable anytime scorer option. Ramos hit 11 goals in 29 Ligue 1 games last term and was on target against RB Leipzig in PSG’s last warm-up fixture.

Build better bets with our free betting tips, predictions and accumulators, every day.