Preview: Aalborg - PSG Handball

Strong start stopped dead
The Danes had a very good start to the campaign! With three wins in their first three matches, they have been there or thereabouts in the race for top spot in the group. But since their win over Flensburg (31-28) in mid-October, things have taken a slight downturn. In their defence, the quality of their recent opponents ahs been extremely high, since after visiting Coubertin, they had to face Barcelona in Rounds 7 and 8. Both matches ended in defeat (30-34; 44-35), despite a good performance on home turf at the Jutlander Bank Arena. After nine games, they sit in fourth place, eight points behind the top two.

On the front foot
The strength of the two teams who face each other on Sunday afternoon lies mainly in attack. With 250 and 241 goals scored respectively, Paris and Aalborg have the second- and third-best attacking records in Group A (only Barcelona are better, with 290). Aalborg scored an impressive 35 goals in Catalonia, but also 31 times against Flensburg, a side renowned for their defensive skills. For their part, Les Rouge et Bleu scored 37 goals against both Zagreb (29-37) and Aalborg (37-24).

View this post on Instagram

Vi taber desværre 30-34 til Barca efter en spændende og tæt @ehfcl kamp - TAK til alle jer i Jutlander Bank Arena, sikke en fantastisk stemning der var 💥👏🏻 #sammenstårvistærkest #aalborghåndbold #veluxehfcl

A post shared by Aalborg Håndbold (@aalborghaandbold) on Nov 10, 2019 at 10:05am PST

A look back at the first match
At the beginning of November, the capital club played host to an Aalborg side full of confidence. Led by Danish international, Mikkel Hansen (6 from 8), Paris quickly took the lead and carried it into the break (30': 15-10). In the second half, Raul Gonzalez's men further increased their lead to finally win by 13 points. For our opponent, it was 25-year-old pivot Benjamin Jakobsen who turned in the most outstanding performance, with 5 from 6.

View this post on Instagram

🇫🇷 Quelle est la plus belle action de notre dernier match de Ligue des Champions ? A/B/C/D/E/FG 🇬🇧 Which one is the best action from our last game in @ehfcl ? A/B/C/D/E/FG #handball #paris #psg #goal #gials #actions #teampsg #sport #instahandball #hand #handballtime #handballpassion #videos

A post shared by Paris Saint-Germain Handball (@psghandofficiel) on Nov 4, 2019 at 10:07am PST

Key stats
In attack, Aalborg and Paris are on point. The Danes boast one of the competition's top scorers, Sebastian Barthold, who has scored 44 goals since the start of the competition. Defensively, however, Aalborg are experiencing a few more difficulties. Their double-header against Barcelona saw them concede at total of 78 goals, which really hurt their stats - they no have the poorest defensive record in Group A (250 goals conceded). Meanwhile, Les Rouge et Bleu boast the third-best defence.

To follow the match (kick-off at 16:50)
- Television: beIN SPORTS Max 5
- Live tweet: our official page

(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)