Preview: PSG Handball - Créteil
A derby awaits Paris Saint-Germain Handball on Wednesday night. In Lidl StarLigue Round 16 action, league leaders Paris Saint-Germain play host to bottom side Créteil.
Derby of extremes
The duel between Les Rouge et Bleu and their close neighbours will pit top against bottom. While our team top the standings with a six-point lead over their nearest rival (Nantes) after 15 wins from as many matches, the 2019-20 campaign has been a very different story for their recently promoted neighbours. Indeed, the USCHB sit at the bottom of the standings, four points shy of Ivry and safety. They have managed to win just twice so far this season, but one of those wins was a real upset - a 35-29 win in Nîmes. They are therefore not to be taken lightly.
Back to Coubertin
After five away matches on the bounce, the Parisians will return to the Stade Pierre de Coubertin for the first time in 2020. They will be back home after visiting Ajaccio (25-39), Toulouse (28-36), Celje (29-33), Aix (28-38) and Szeged (32-29) - journeys that took them a total of 11,142 kilometres! The last time the club from the capital appeared on home turf was on 18 December last year - a 36-25 victory over Dunkerque - two months and a day before their return to Coubertin in official competition.
C'est terminé ! 13ème victoire parisienne en 13 journées de @LidlStarligue 💯% #PSGUSDK pic.twitter.com/aNPjQj99J8
— PSG Handball (@psghand) December 18, 2019
A look back at the first match
The first match between the sides this season was played at the Palais des Sports Robert Oubron in Créteil in Round 10 at the end of November. Raul Gonzalez's side made a difficult start against Boïba Sissoko (nine goals and top scorer with 64) and his team-mates (15': 10-7), but they made up the deficit and took the lead before heading into the break (30': 14-20). Vincent Gerard's 12 saves and Mikkel Hansen's 14 goals (his record in a single match) helped them extend their lead even further at the end of the match (29-38).
Our statistics in a few figures
Since the start of the season, Paris Saint-Germain Handball have become accustomed to scoring a lot of goals. They boast the best attack in the league, with 529 goals scored in 15 games, with an average of 35 per game. Since the opening round of the season, our team have scored at least 30 times in every league outing, a statistic due in large part to Danish left-back Mikki, who is the fifth highest scorer in the league with 80 goals… even though he has only played in 10 Lidl StarLigue matches (compared to 15 for all his rivals)!
To follow the game (kick-off at 20:30)
- Television: beIN SPORTS Max 6
- At the Pierre de Coubertin Stadium: get your tickets on our official website
- Live tweet: our official page
(Credits: TeamPics/PSG)