On Wednesday night, Paris Saint-Germain Handball will look to tighten their grip on top spot on the Lidl StarLigue table (they are currently five points clear of second-placed Nantes) in their Round 19 clash at home to in-form Istres.
Survival still possible
Although relegation seemed more than likely at the end of 2018, Istres now look to be on track to survive in France's top flight. Heading into Round 19, they are still in the drop zone but have clawed their way to eight points, level with Cesson-Rennes, who are just outside the relegation places. Survival hopes have been reignited in recent weeks thanks to a superb string of results tat has seen Gilles Derot's men win in Aix (25-24), in Cesson for the inauguration of the Glaz Arena (20-23) and at home to Dunkerque (28-23). Thus they are a form side bringing some serious momentum as they take on the top dogs at Coubertin.
Strike duo: Boschi-Kankaras
Istres' recent turnaround has been driven by the clinical finishing of their strike duo: Montenegrin pivot Branko Kankaras and 26-year-old left-back Nicolas Boschi. These two are the club's top scorers, respectively with 64 and 65 goals, and they both fired seven and six goals respectively) in the big win over Dunkerque. To back them up, the coach's son Théo Derot - a France international - signed for his boyhood club in the winter from Aix in a bid for game time. He has already struck 14 times in just three appearances.
A look back at the first match
Back in Round 2, les Rouge et Bleu travelled to the Halle Polyvalente in Istres and did took care of business against the home side, who were playing the first home game of their promotion season (24-31). Despite making 15 saves, 'keeper Robin Cappelle - who just recently passed the bar of 2,000 Lidl StarLigue saves and announced his retirement for the end of the season - couldn't stop the Parisian armada from doing its thing. Indeed, 12 of Paris' 14 outfield players got on the scoresheet, with Nedim Remili and Uwe Gensheimer bagging five each.
Our key stats
Given our attacking quality, it's little surprise that Paris Saint-Germain Handball boast the league's most prolific attack, with 572 goals scored. Mikkel Hansen has played a key role in that impressive tally, top-scoring for the capital club with 95 goals. But our defence is also going great guns! Indeed, coach Raul Gonzalez has the division's tightest defence - 452 goals conceded in 18 matches - at his disposal, with Thierry Omeyer contributing 128 saves while Rodrigo Corrales has made 112 and Viran Morros has led the way for our six defensive outfield players.
To follow the match (throw-off at 20:45)
- At the Stade Pierre de Coubertin: get your tickets on our official website
- Television: not broadcast
- Live tweet: our official page
(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)