Five things on Aix - PSG Handball

News

A few days after qualifying for the EHF Champions League Final4 by beating Kiel (36-28), Paris Saint-Germain Handball quickly switch back to Lidl StarLigue action! On Sunday, they start their two-week road trip in Aix (before facing Chambéry on Wednesday) as Round 27 action rolls around.

1 - Top-of-the-table clash
This weekend's match sees two of the division highest flyers facing off. Aix, despite numerous postponed home games, started the season rather well and were for a long time breathing down Les Rouge et Bleus' neck. But 2021 has been more complicated: they have played many games and dropped many points, notably at home to Chartres (24-25) and Saint-Raphael (26-28). However, Thierry Anti's men are currently on a three-match win streak that has taken them fourth with 32 pointsMeanwhile the capital are still in top spot and have a one-point lead over second-placed Montpellier, as well as two matches in hand (ahead the MHB's clash with Nรฎmes on Saturday afternoon).

2 - Familiar faces
In the ranks of PAUC, we find several of our former players who have made history with our club. The first one, Nicolas Claire, is having a great season and is his sides fourth-top scorer with 72 goals. The French international was part of the first Parisian team to be crowned French champion, back in 2013. He played a key role in winning the title, scoring 46 times in 26 appearances. We also find William Accambray (Parisian between 2014 and 2017) and Samuel Honrubia (2012 and 2016), both of whom participated Les Rouge et Bleu first EHF Champions League Final4, back in 2016. This season, our two ex-players have scored 56 and 22 goals respectively. The match will be the opportunity for the Karabatic siblings to take on their former side (a few months in 2013 for Nikola and from 2011 to 2015 for Luka).

3 - A look back at the first game
In Round 1 back in September 2020, Aix went to the Stade Pierre de Coubertin to kick off their Lidl StarLigue campaign, six months after COVID killed off the previous season. The game was very close and the Parisians had to wait until the last moments to make the difference, thanks to Wesley Pardon, who shone in the visitors' goal with 12 saves. To make the difference, Raul Gonzalez's men relied on Niko, who managed to score with eight of his ten attempts as well as a 4 from 4 from our left-winger Mathieu Grรฉbille. Historically, the the Parisians have dominated the fixture with 15 wins for only two defeats (including one on the last day of the 2015-16 season, 31-32, when we were already Champions).

4 - Statistics in a few figures
When Paris is involved, goals simply rain down. Indeed, our team has the Lidl StarLigue's best attack with 832 goals scored in 24 games (an average of 34 goals per game!) - a tally to which our backline duo of Nedim Remili and Mikkel Hansen have contributed handily (108 goals each). Aix's top scorer is 28-year-old left winger Matthieu Ong with 100 goals. But the home team defend very well; they boast the division's third-stingiest defence with only 631 goals conceded in 24 games (an average of 26 per game). But here again, the PSG defence, led by Vincent Gerard (best goalkeeper in the history of the championship with 3266 saves), is even better! They hav conceded only 618 times for an average of just 25 goals per game. Only Nantes have done better.

5 - To follow the game (throw-off at 17:00):
- Television: beIN SPORTS 2
- Live tweet: our official page

(Credits: TeamPics/PSG)