Preview: Paris - Dunkerque

Avant-match

On Sunday, Paris Saint-Germain Handball play host to Dunkerque at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. Here's a look ahead to this Liqui Moly StarLigue Matchday 3 fixture.

1 - Form

With two wins in the first two rounds of the Liqui Moly StarLigue, Les Rouge et Bleu are starting their campaign on the same footing as at the end of last season. The capital club have got the better of two tricky teams who played their cards right: Nîmes (36-33) and Limoges (29-30). With the resumption of the EHF Champions League, the fixtures are piling up for Les Rouge et Bleu, who have two away games next week. After a trip to Poland to take on Plock on the continental stage, Raul Gonzalez's men follow up with a short trip to Tremblay on Matchday 4.

For their part, Dunkerque have had a difficult start to the season; the Northerners are still looking for their first point in the Liqui Moly Starligue. Franck Maurice's men have suffered two narrow defeats - at Limoges (37-34) and Toulouse (24-27) - and the only real satisfaction so far has been their qualification for the Coupe de France's last 16 with a hard-fought 29-33 win over Cournon d'Auvergne.

2 - Tom Pelayo, as formidable as ever

The Liqui Moly StarLigue's second top scorer behind Kamil Syprzak last season, Tom Pelayo has lost none of his effectiveness this early in the campaign: the right-back has scored 24 goals in the first two rounds of te league season and currently tops the scoring charts. Last week, the northerner set a new personal best for a single match by converting 13 of his 16 attempts against Toulouse. Last season, Pelayo was particularly adept against Paris, with 16 goals and six assists in their two encounters.

3 - Les Rouge et Bleu shine against Dunkerque

With a record largely to their advantage against the northerners, the Parisians regularly shine against Franck Maurice's side. While Kamil Syprzak converted all 11 of his shots against Dunkirk last season (34-27), two other Parisians have set personal bests against the Lions. In October 2022, Elohim Prandi found the net 14 times in a high-profile encounter at the Stade des Flandres (32-38). A few months later, in the return match at Coubertin, David Balaguer set a personal best with Les Rouge et Bleu by scoring eight goals in a 44-36 victory for Raul Gonzalez's men.

4 - HEAD TO HEAD

On Sunday, Paris and Dunkerque will face off for the 38th time in their history, making this duel one of the must-watch fixtures of the Liqui Moly StarLigue season. Over the years, the capital club have gained the upper hand over their opponents, with a record of 27 wins to one draw and nine defeats. This weekend, Raul Gonzalez's men will be looking to extend their 16-game winning streak against the Northern outfit.

5 - To follow the match

Throw-off: 17:00 at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin

Television: BeIn Sports

Social networks: Live-tweet

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