Friday evening, from 19:00 pm, Niort and Le Havre duel in the 20th stage of the French second league. Le Havre’s share is falling, and we expect a duel with few goals, decided to the limit.
On Stade Rene Gaillard two teams meet in different situations. Le Havre is pulling hard to reach the Top 5, while Niort is in the relegation zone and has bleak prospects this season. Le Havre is in 7th place (29-20 goalscoring) and has only four failures during the championship, while Niort is 18th, with only four successes and 16-24 goalscoring.
Niort has lost the last four consecutive stages and was humiliated in the French Cup, where he gave up in front of Saint-Pierroise amateurs (1-2). In the championship, Niort gave way to Lens (0-1), Chambly (2-3) and AC Ajaccio (0-1). Le Havre missed the victory in the last two games, when they lost to Clermont (1-2) and drew with Chambly (1-1). But before these games, Friday’s guests won quite clearly the matches with Le Mans (2-0), Rodez (2-1) and Guingamp (4-0).
The direct duels between Niort and Le Havre are always tactically maximized. The last two meetings ended with draws (0-0 and 1-1), after Niort and Le Havre shared their victories, both with 1-0, in 2018. We have all the premises for a new closed match, in which hosts will try to protect the white draw, and Le Havre will take risks only in the second half. It could be decisive for the goalscorer of the championship, Kadawere, who has scored 17 goals this season for Le Havre. Niort has no offensive players of the same level.
PREDICTION: Le Havre to win @ 1,95
