Preview: PSG Handball - Barcelona

News

The biggest fixture of Velux EHF Champions League Round 10 will be played on Sunday afternoon at the Pierre de Coubertin Stadium. Our arena will host Paris Saint-Germain Handball and Barcelona, who will be competing in the hard-fought race for top spot in Group A.

A look back at the first match
On 19 October, Les Rouge et Bleu travelled to Barcelona's lair the Palau Blaugrana. Missing several key rear-guard players, they gave a good account of themselves faced with one of Europe's superpowers, leading the dance for almost 30 minutes (20': 10-12). However, this strong start wasn't enough to see them head back to Paris with the two points - the Spaniards made the difference at the end of the first half and managed to keep the lead until the end of the game, eventually winning by four goals (36-32).

Danger man Gomez
On that day, Barcelona's main man in attack was Aleix Gomez. The Spanish left-winger managed to beat the Corrales-Gérard duo eight times from nine attempts, top scoring in the match. But the capital club can rest assured that their defenders have not been the only ones to suffer at the hands of the 22-year-old. With 53 goals, he is the third-highest scorer in the tournament and also one of its most in-form, having bagged 28 in his last three matches alone (nine goals in each match against Aalborg and ten against Flensburg).

The context
This headline clash has all the makings of a final for Group A. Indeed, heading into Round 11, the teams are tied on 16 points (no other team in any of the groups has done as well). The reason Barcelona are currently leading is because they have a better goal difference (+4). In the event of a victory, Paris would take a two-point lead at the top and, should they win by a five-point margin, they would take an aggregate lead on goal difference and have an ace up their sleeve in the race for first place, which qualifies directly for the quarter-finals).

Key stats
The task will not be easy against Barcelona's attacking armada. With 321 goals scored in nine games, the Catalans dominate the scoring charts, helped by the 75 goals they scored over two legs against Aalborg. But our team are also doing well in this sector and are ranked second with 282 goals scored. Defensively, they have conceded 242 goals, compared to 246 for the Catalans, which sets up a mouth-watering battle between the two 'keepers.

To follow the match (kick-off at 17:00)
- Television: beIN SPORTS 3
- Live tweet: our official page

(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)