All you need to know about PSG Handball - Barcelona

News

There's a big match lying in store for Paris Saint-Germain Handball! On Thursday evening, they play host to Barcelona in a crunch EHF Champions League Matchday 10 clash at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin.

The table
This match promises to be fascinating in many respects. First, because the confrontations between these two teams are always entertaining, but also because the two sides are very close in terms of points. Indeed, Les Rouge et Bleu are on a three-match win streak - including a crucial win over group leaders Kielce (32-27) - that has allowed them to climb back to the upper reaches of the table, three points shy of first placed, one point off second (which qualifies directly for the quarterfinals) and level with the Catalans ahead of Thursday's match!

On the other hand, the Catalans, after an excellent start, have had a slightly more difficult time of things lately. Although they were able to get back to winning ways when they hosted Porto last week (38-31), they had gone three games without a win, including two defeats against Kielce (who ended Barça's six-year unbeaten streak at the Palau Blaugrana). Before throw-off, Barcelona and Paris each have 11 points.

The first leg
In October, the capital club traveled to Spain for their Matchday 5 fixture. The duel was very tight and balanced for most of the game (30': 13-13). Finally, in spite of Mikkel Hansen's 7 from 7, our players were defeated in the dying moments (30-27).

Goalkeepers face off
The two goalkeepers had a magnificent duel in that match. For the Blaugrana, Gonzalo Perez de Vargas managed to repel 17 Parisian attempts (39% success rate), while Vincent Gerard also had a great game, making 14 saves (33%), including one that appeared in the Top Saves of that week.

Scorers in action
Paris and Barcelona are both teams that score a lot. Raul Gonzalez's men have the best attack in the competition, with 303 goals (the only team to have reached the 300-goal mark). They owe this statistic in large part to their Danish left-back, Mikky, who is currently the top scorer in the competition with 56 goals. Barcelona have scored 283, with Aleix Gomez and Dika Mem top-scoring with 54 and 53 goals respectively).

Head to head
This is the ninth time these two teams have faced each other in the Champions League. For now, the record favours the Catalans, with seven victories and only one defeat. The only Parisian success dates back to November 2016 (33-26). That day, an excellent Nedim Remili bagged nine goals to get his side across the line.

To follow the game (kickoff at 20:45):
- Television: Eurosport 2
- Our social networks: via our live-tweet

(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)