Preview: PSG Handball - Flensburg
D-Day is almost here! After seven months without an official match, Paris Saint-Germain Handball are back on the road to competition on Wednesday evening, playing host to Flensburg in EHF Champions League Round 2 action.
Opening win
Flensburg have already kicked off their 2020-21 Champions League campaign, having beaten one of the tournament favourites - Kielce - 31-30 with a buzzer-buster from Goran Johannessen in the last minute. Special mention to Magnus Röd, top scorer in the match with 6 from 6. For their part, the Parisians will be participating in an official match for the first time since 8 March's 32-21 victory over Dunkerque in the Coupe de France quarter-finals.
Five on the bounce
In the last five clashes between the sides, Les rouge et Bleu have a 100% record with three wins at Coubertin and two at the Flens-Arena. The last Parisian defeat in the fixture (33-29) dates back to 30 September 2017, almost three years to the day before this latest instalment.
Historic clashes
Among the past battles between these teams, we remember those of last season, when the capital club left Flensburg victorious thanks to a last-gasp save by Vincent Gérard (29-30) in November. A few weeks later, Paris prevailed once again, this time on home soil, dispatching the German side 32-30 to stretch their winning run at Coubertin to an unbelievable 55 matches. Finally, we remember Nedim Remili's last-second kung-fu winner in Germany back in season 2016-17.
Summer moves
As was the case for Paris Saint-Germain Handball, Flensburg saw some transfer action over the summer. In particular, the German team lost emblematic right-back Holger Glandorf to retirement, but reinforcements in his position arrived in the form of Franz Semper (Leipzig), Lasse Moller (GOG) and, above all, Danish international, Mads Mensah Larsen, who left rivals Rhein-Neckar Lowen Lions to join the northern giants. In the Paris camp, Elohim Prandi, Dainis Kristopans, Mathieu Grébille, Ferran Solé and Yann Genty all joined the club and will be playing their first official match with our team.
To follow the game (kick-off at 20:45):
- Television: Eurosport
- At the Stade Pierre de Coubertin Stadium: get your tickets on our official website
- Live tweet: our official page
(Credits: TeamPics/PSG)