Preview: Flensburg - PSG Handball

News

On Wednesday evening, Paris Saint-Germain Handball will play their third consecutive Velux EHF Champions League match (after Barcelona and Aalborg), travelling to Germany to take on Flensburg in Velux EHF Champions League Round 7 action.

Turning point
This is the last match of the first half of the Champions League group stage and, it's shaping up as a decisive one should the teams not draw. If the Germans win, they potentially come within one point of the top two (Barcelona and Paris). On the other hand, a poor performance could leave them five points shy of top spot. For their part, Les Rouge et Bleu could take sole control of the group - with a draw or better, combined with a defeat for the Catalans in Aalborg.

Iron curtain
This will not be an easy task for Les Rouge et Bleu. Especially in attack, as they will be up against a very solid defence. The German rear-guard is the best of the upper groups with only 149 goals conceded in six matches. On two occasions - against Elverum (26-19) and Zagreb (20-17) - the Flensburgers' goalkeeping tandem of Benjamin Buric and Torbjoern Bergerud managed to concede fewer than 20 goals. However, in their last two matches, they have shown some signs of weakness, with Aalborg (31-28) and Barcelona (27-34) each scoring 30+ times.

A look back at recent matches
Almost a year ago to the day (14 November, 2018), the Parisians were on their way to the Flens-Arena. Despite a hand injury, Thierry Omeyer played an exceptional game and was one of the key players in his side's win (20-27). A week earlier, however, Coubertin had had to wait until the final seconds and a goal from Uwe Gensheimer to confirm Les Rouge et Bleu's victory (29-28). The German international was also pretty rough on his compatriots during the 2016-2017 edition. On the buzzer, he served up an assist for Nedim Remili to secure our team the two points with a superb kung-fu (33-34).

Key stats
Flensburg have a very good defence, but things are ore complicated at the other end of the court. With 150 goals scored (+1 goal difference), the defending Bundesliga champions have the fourth-weakest attack in the competition. Fortunately, they have one of the tournament's top scorers, Norway's centre-half Goeran stage. Raul Gonzalez's men are fortunate to be strong in all sectors. With 188 goals scored and 154 conceded, they are the second-most effective offensive line and the least permeable rear-guard.

To follow the match (kick-off at 19:00)
- Television: beIN SPORTS 1
- Live tweet: our official page

(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)