Five things on Saint-Raphaël - PSG Handball

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Paris Saint-Germain Handball are getting set for a second consecutive Lidl Starligue clash! After disposing of Cesson-Rennes, they head to Saint-Raphaël - who will be playing their first home game of the season - for their Round 3 rendezvous.

Two draws to start
While Les Rouge et Bleu started with wins over Aix (34-31) and Cesson-Rennes (39-21), the Raphaëlois have been falling just short of the mark. Unfortunately for them, tiny margins have cost them dearly - like on their trip to Cesson-Rennes where they were leading in the final minute but were caught out by a Youenn Cardinal penalty three seconds from time (27-27). A week later, it was Ivry left-back Walid Badi who prevented them from taking the two points, despite their having led by a large margin early on (18': 9-14). The result could have been worse if Badi had converted his penalty on the buzzer (34-34).

Heavyweight reinforcements
This summer, the SRVHB saw several players leave, including Alexander Lynggaard, who returned home to join Silkeborg. But, overall, they have become much stronger! First of all thanks to the arrival of 26-year-old pivot Johannes Marescot, who left his boyhood club, Chambéry, for the South of France. In seven seasons spent in the elite of French handball, the 2015 World Champion with Les Bleuets has scored 288 times in the Lidl StarLigue. The other arrival is well known in the Capital: 36-year-old Montenegrin right-winger Fahrudin Melic, who won the Lidl Starligue title with Paris in 2015 and 2016. Like Marsecot, Melic arrived from Chambéry.

Key stats
On Tuesday night, we should see a prolific game, as the fixture pits two of the best attacks in our championship against each other. Indeed, after two games, Raphaëlois (61 goals, fourth-best attack) and Parisians (73, best attack), have been no strangers to big scorelines. As for Les Rouge et Bleu, it is Mikkel Hansen who tops the scoring chart with 13 goals. Saint-Raphaël are enjoying the fruits of their summer transfer activity, with Melic and Marescot top the club chart with ten goals apiece. Defensively, SRVHB and Paris Saint-Germain Handball have conceded 61 and 52 goals respectively.

Head-to-head
Most of the direct confrontations in the Lidl StarLigue have gone in favour of the Parisians. In total, the two teams have met 25 times in our championship, with our team winning 17 times for eight losses. But the trips to the Palais des Sports Jean-François-Krakowski have often proved perilous. The last one, in June 2019, ended in a defeat (33-31), just after the capital club were awarded the Lidl Starligue title. This remains Paris' most recent league defeat. But overall, in the Var region, the record is a relatively even one, with five victories for the locals against seven for Les Rouge et Bleu. A particularly memorable one back in 2018 saw Mikky hammer home from the penalty line to clinch a dramatic draw (26-26).

To follow the match (kick-off at 20:30):

• Television: beIN SPORTS 1

• Live tweet: our official page


(Credits: TeamPics/PSG)