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French football has had a tumultuous summer off the pitch with the difficulties of the French TV deal as well as the departure of national team captain Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid so there is a bit of pressure to grab the attention as Le Havre take on Paris Saint-Germain in the opening game of the season.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Friday 16th August, 2024 - UK – 7:45pm / US ET – 2:45pm / US PT – 11:45am
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – TBC / US – TBC
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – TBC / US – TBC
LE HAVRE PREVIEW: SUSTAINING THEMSELVES
In their first season back in the French top-flight in 15 years last year, Le Havre eventually steered themselves comfortably clear of the bottom three and the danger zone but it was a difficult second-half of the season and they only finished three points above Metz and Lorient, who were both relegated.
It has been an extremely quiet summer transfer window for the hosts with no incomings to replenish a squad that did appear tired and quite short in the latter stages of the campaign. Manager Luka Elsner has left the club to take up the role at Stade de Reims with former Middlesbrough midfielder Didier Digard now in charge at Stade Oceane.
PSG PREVIEW: THE PARISIEN REBUILD
As mentioned, the biggest thing about Paris Saint-Germain’s summer has been the departure, finally, of Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer to Real Madrid. He leaves a year after both Lionel Messi and Neymar both left the club which does represent a major shift for Luis Enrique and PSG ahead of the 2024/25 season.
They enjoyed a very busy summer last year and already brought in attacking options such as Randal Kolo Muani, Goncalo Ramos and Bradley Barcola. This time around, they have been a bit quieter with Matvey Safonov and Willian Pacho both joining the club, as well as defensive midfielder Joao Neves from Benfica.
LE HAVRE TEAM NEWS: FULLY FIT AND AVAILABLE
Didier Digard has no injury issues or suspension concerns for the opening day of the season but the hosts will still only be able to select from a relatively small squad.
The likes of Daler Kuzyayev and Emmanuel Sabbi will represent a relatively deep Le Havre attack with the likes of Loic Nego, Etienne Youte Kinkoue and Arouna Sangante in the defensive back-line.
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Desmas; Salmier, Sangante, Lloris, Operi; Targhalline, Toure; Casimir, Kuzyayev, Joujou; Sabbi
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE:
PSG TEAM NEWS: NO FITNESS CONCERNS FOR THE PARISIENS
For a lot of last season, PSG had already started to move away from their reliance on Kylian Mbappe and the France captain was rotated quite regularly to the substitutes bench.
Luis Enrique and PSG will still have to make some changes to their squad and there will be some intrigue over the prospect of Joao Neves starting and whether potentially Manchester United-bound Manuel Ugarte is available.
PREDICTED XI (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Beraldo, Mendes; Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, Neves; Dembele, Ramos, Barcola
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE:
LE HAVRE VS PSG PREDICTION
If we’re going off the calendar year then Le Havre will be expecting to spend the season battling against relegation. It was fairly miraculous that Le Havre avoided the bottom three last year and that was shown by the fact that Elsner has departed the club for pastures new and more ambitious. PSG will head to Stade Oceane with the pressure of defending champions and trying to rebuild in the absence of Mbappe and the likes but the Parisiens are the overwhelming favourites for this one.
LE HAVRE VS PSG TIP: PSG TO WIN -1 HANDICAP