Preview: 5 things about Paris - Pelister

Avant-match

On Wednesday, Paris Saint-Germain Handball play host to Macedonian side Pelister at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin on the opening day of the EHF Champions League group stage. Find out all you need to know about this match.

1 - The Champions League is back!

After the Trophée des Champions, the Coupe de France and the Liqui Moly StarLigue, our players are getting ready to return to the EHF Champions League. Les Rouge et Bleu are in Group A this season, and will be up against a number of familiar faces - Kielce, Zagreb and Pelister were in the same group as the Parisians last season, while Wisla Plock lost out to Club capital club in the play-offs. While Dinamo Bucharest have crossed paths with Paris before - back in the 2022-23 season - three new opponents will be visiting Coubertin in the coming months: Mathias Gidsel's Füchse Berlin, recently crowned Portuguese champions Sporting CP, and Denmark's Fredericia, who are making their Champions League debut.

2 - Form

Raul Gonzalez's men kicked off their league campaign with a thrilling 36-33 victory over Nîmes on Saturday. Elohim Prandi, who was recently named last season's MVP, was in particularly fine form against his former club, finding the net eight times and coming very close to hitting the 900-goal mark in the league.

Pelister, for their part, were also back in action, beginning their defence of the league title they have won in the last two seasons. Faced with Tikvesh, who finished fifth in the Macedonian Superleague last term, Branislav Angelovski's men had their work cut out. Dominated in the first half, Pelister dug deep to turn the game around (31-27) and get their season off to the best possible start ahead of their trip to Coubertin.

3 - The other Group A fixtures

The opening day of the EHF Champions League features a number of exciting duels, the highlight of which is Veszprém's trip to face a Füchse Berlin side making their comeback in Europe's top club competition. The only newcomers to this 2024-25 edition are Denmark's Fredericia, who travel to Bucharest. After an absence of four seasons, Sporting CP are also making a comeback in the Champions League, and will be taking on Wisla Plock. 

4 - HEAD TO HEAD

Pelister are preparing to take part in a Champions League campaign for the second time in their history. Drawn in the same group as Les Rouge et Bleu last season, the Macedonians endured a complicated adventure punctuated by 14 defeats in as many games. Raul Gonzalez's men never wavered against them, either at home (31-26) or away (25-31). Kamil Syprzak, the competition's top scorer last season, made Pelister one of his favourite targets, scoring seven goals in the first leg of both matches.

5 - To follow the match

Throw-off: 20:45 at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin

Television: Eurosport

Social networks: Live-tweet

(Credits: E. Renard/Team Pics/PSG)