Preview: Nantes - PSG Handball

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On Thursday evening, Paris Saint-Germain Handball will play their final match for 2018. The table-topping side form the capital travel to the Halle XXL to take on nearest rivals Nantes in their Lidl StarLigue Round 13 clash.

An excellent run
In second place heading into this Round 13 clash, The H have had a near-perfect start to the Lidl StarLigue season. Over the first 12 matches of the campaign, only Chambéry - themselves enjoying a blistering start to 2018-19 - have managed to get the better of Nantes (29-33). This glitch on home turf aside, no-one has been able to withstand Thierry Anti's men. Their fearsome attack, the competition's second-most prolific (after Paris), has played a key role with 359 strikes. Among the Nantes attackers, Spanish international Valero Rivera has stood out, his 75 goals putting him among the competition's top three scorers.

 

Last match before the break
Both winners as they entered the Coupe de France fray last weekend (23-31 for Nantes in Caen; 25-29 for Paris in Dijon), the sides will be rounding out the year on Thursday night. Nonetheless, given how close the sides are on the table, this last hit-out is extremely important. After a two-month break, during which the IHF World Men's Handball Championship 2019 will be held, Paris and Nantes will clash once again in their return to action - a crunch Velux EHF Champions League Round 11 meeting.

 

Second time in a week!
Last week, Paris Saint-Germain Handball and Nantes gave their all in a hard-fought Coupe de la Ligue quarter-final battle at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. After falling as many as seven goals behind at one point in the first half (20’: 10-17), Les Rouge et Bleu hit back before the break (30’: 18-19) and, thanks notably to a nine-goal haul from Sander Sagosen, they completed their comeback and clinched a dramatic late win to punch their ticket for the Final4.

 

Our keys stats
Eleven wins and one draw from 12 matches - an impressive performance from Raul Gonzalez's men in the first half of the Lidl StarLigue campaign. Their domination shines through in the statistics, as the capital club boast the competition's most prolific attack (378 goals scored) and it's second-tightest attack (297 goals conceded). Thus it's no surprise to find them sitting atop the Lidl StarLigue table with 23 points - to point clear of second-placed Nantes. A win on Thursday would see them stretch their lead to four points ahead of some happy holidays in sole control of the competition. 

 

To follow the match (throw-off at 20:45)

(Credits: TeamPics/PSG)