Preview: 5 things about Veszprém - Paris
On Thursday, Paris Saint-Germain Handball travel to Hungary to take on Veszprém. Find out all you need to know about this EHF Champions League Matchday 2 clash.
1 - Form
Like the capital club, Veszprém have been on a roll so far this season. Easy winners over Dabas (42-28) and Balatonfuredi (28-38) in the first two rounds of the Hungarian league, Xavi Pascual's men have also made an ideal start to the Champions League campaign. Up against a valiant Füchse Berlin side, the Hungarians overcame a five-goal deficit to claim a convincing 31-32 victory on German soil.
Meanwhile, Les Rouge et Bleu continued their fine start to the season with a narrow 29-30 win over Limoges. Having beaten Pelister a few days earlier in a thrilling Champions League opener match (31-29), Paris will now take on one of their main rivals in Group A.
2 - Duels at every level
This clash between Veszprém and Paris will be an opportunity for both teams to renew old acquaintances, but also for the public to witness a top-of-the-table clash on all levels. After five years of bringing the Veszprém Arena to its feet, newly signed Parisian Yahia Omar will be making his return to his old stomping ground. On the Hungarian side, Spanish goalkeeper Rodrigo Corrales and French international Nedim Remili will take on the capital club, for whom they have played for three and five seasons respectively. Like Kamil Syprzak, former Parisian right-back Remili scored 11 goals on Matchday 1, and their rivalry promises to be exciting. On the bench, another face-off will take place between two Champions League-winning coaches: Xavi Pascual, who claimed three European Championship titles with Barcelona and arrived at Vezprém this summer from Bucharest, and Raul Gonzalez, who won the continenbt's top competition with Vardar.
3 - Group A fixtures
Having beaten Fredericia on Matchday 1, Bucharest face an altogether different challenge at Plock on Wednesday. Dominated by Sporting CP on Matchday 1, the Poles will be determined to kick-start their European campaign in front of their home crowd. Pelister, meanwhile, will be looking to continue their positive trend when they play host to Füchse Berlin in what promises to be an electric encounter between two sides in search of their first win. Meanwhile, Denmark's Fredericia play host to Sporting CP in their first-ever European Cup home game. Beaten 37-28 in Bucharest last week, the neophytes will be aiming to spring a surprise against the Portuguese, who beat Plock 34-29.
𝗧𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝟮#MOTW ✨ HBC Nantes 🇫🇷🆚🇵🇱 Industria Kielce
— EHF Champions League (@ehfcl) September 17, 2024
Round preview 📝 https://t.co/cVEnLZFfti pic.twitter.com/aqy1D8NbDz
4 - HEAD TO HEAD
The clashes between Paris and Vezprém are always closely contested, and they almost always produce a great spectacle. Les Rouge et Bleu have so far accrued a slight advantage over their Hungarian rivals, with eight wins to one draw and six defeats in the 15 Champions League meetings between the two sides. The most recent head-to-head meeting saw Raul Gonzalez's men claim a thrilling 37-35 victory on the final day of the 2022-2023 group stage.
5 – TO FOLLOW THE MATCH
Throw-off: 18:45
Television : Eurosport
Social media: Live-Tweet
(Credits : L. Valroff/ E. Renard/ Team Pics/PSG)