All you need to know about PSG Handball - Zaporozhye
On Thursday evening, Paris Saint-Germain Handball take part in EHF Champions League Matchday 4 action. In a very tight group B, they could strike a real blow if they can clinch victory at home to a very tough Zaporozhye side.
The start of the campaign
After three rounds, Les Rouge et Bleu have experienced everything in this group phase. They lost in Veszprém (34-31), won against Dinamo Bucharest (41-30) and shared the points in Flensburg (27-27). Nonetheless, they are still in with a chance of finishing in the top two in Group B - which would assure them of direct qualification for the quarter-finals - and are only one point shy of leaders Barcelona.
The Ukrainians have nothing to be ashamed of either. After beating Porto in their opening game (30-27), they came out of their trip to the Palau Blaugrana in Barcelona with their heads held high (36-25) and could have held on for a draw against Kielce had it not been for a last-gasp goal from the visitors (25-26).
Paris on the attack
Since the beginning of the season, the Parisian attack has been in fine form! With 99 goals early in their European campaign, the capital club has the best attacking line in Group B, ahead of Veszprém (92). Overall, only Group A's Kiel have done better, with 104 goals. The Parisians' top scorers are Mikkel Hansen (18 goals), Ferran Solé Sala and Kamil Syprzak (11).
Pukhouski on fire
Zaporozhye may only have scored 80 goals, but they are still a dangerous side, with dangerous players such as Belarusian centre-half Barys Pukhouski. He has already found the net 15 times, including six times on Barça's home turf. He has proven a thorn in opposing defences' sides over the last three European seasons, bagging a total of 221 goals.
WATCH: It wasn't #HCMotor's evening vs @meskovBrest – but Barys Pukhouski's brilliant solo goal is one for the Ukrainian side to remember. #ehfcl #Showtimeforplayoffs pic.twitter.com/mwnAOwR8Mf
— EHF Champions League (@ehfcl) April 8, 2021
The other centre-half of this team, Lithuanian Aidenas Malasinskas, as well as his compatriot and former youth academy player Jonas Truchanovicius, should also be watched. The 29-year-old left-back spent five years with Montpellier, scoring 216 goals. He also won the Champions League with Les Héraultais, alongside Vincent Gérard and Mathieu Grébille, in 2018.
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Head to head
This fixture is not entirely unprecedented in the Champions League. Paris and Zaporozhye faced each other in 2018-2019, with our team winning both matches, 31-25 at Coubertin and 29-35 in Ukraine. In that return leg, Thierry Omeyer stopped 12 shots, but also scored three goals from his three shots!
To follow the match (kick-off at 20:45):
- From the Coubertin stands: by getting your tickets on our official website
- Television: Eurosport 2
- Our social networks, via our live-tweet
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(Credits: A. Gadoffre/TeamPics/PSG)