In the match of the 33rd round of the French championship Le Havre will play with Marseille at home. For both teams the meeting is very important. Le Havre are in the relegation zone, from which they are desperately trying to climb out and not to fall even lower. It is four points ahead of St Etienne, one point behind Nantes, and two points behind Angers and Reims. So there is every chance of salvation. But the opponents ahead are too difficult. Marseille is in second place in Ligue 1 but it is under a powerful attack of competitors. It has not even guaranteed itself participation in European competitions, let alone the Champions League. Because Monaco are one point behind, two points behind Nice, Lille and Strasbourg, and Lyon are five points behind. It is no longer such a serious competitor, but the sheer density of the position is quite impressive.

In the previous round Marseille drew with Lille (1:1), earlier defeated Brest (4:1) and Montpellier (5:1), and was defeated by Monaco (0:3). So the Provençals lack stability, despite very open and colourful football. Le Havre achieved a strategically important victory over Auxerre (2:1) last round, although before that they drew with Monaco (1:1) and lost to PSG (1:2) and Rennes (1:5). At home in the last six duels Le Havre both scored and conceded. And Marseille away conceded three goals in four of the five previous matches. Note that in the first round Marseille defeated Le Havre 5-1 at home.