Preview: PSG Handball - Montpellier

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On Sunday afternoon, at the Antarès in Le Mans, two-time reigning holders Paris Saint-Germain Handball will be out to defend their Coupe de la Ligue title. After beating Ivry in the semis (22-27), Les Rouge et Bleu take on Montpellier, who got past Saint-Raphaël (23-25).

The semis

Les Rouge et Bleu got the Final4 under way with their clash again ivry. Dominant from the off, they turned in an accomplished performance as Sander Sagosen hit 4 from 4 and Thierry Omeyer made eight saves. The whole squad got game time, a fact that should hold the capital club in good stead with the final following so quickly on from the semis. Meanwhile, Montpellier had to fight a bit harder to get their win over SRVHB. They had several chances to kill off the match but squandered them, leading to a suspenseful final stretch. In the end thanks to the excellent Vincent Gérard, who made 11 saves as well as making his way onto the scoresheet, Patrice Canayer's men punched hitter ticket for the final.

Familiar fixture

This isn't the first time the Paris and Montpellier have met in the final of this competition. In fact, there have been three such finals in the past - all of which have seen Montpellier prevail. The first clash dates back to 2004-05, at the Parnasse in Nîmes (27-21). A year later, the two sides faced off at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin (31-30), and then, in 2015-16, in the Sud de France Arena, the capital club and the south-westerners faced off after beating Toulouse (31-45) and Nantes (31-33) respectively. Despite Mikkel Hansen's nine-goal haul, our side fell (26-31). In terms of all-time titles in the competition, Montpellier have ten Coupes de la Ligue, followed by Paris (2), who have a chacune to make it three in a row, having won the last two editions.

A look back at previous clashes

Sunday's match will be the third meeting of the two clubs this season. The last one was s recent as last week, in the Coupe de France quarters. After a long session of slugging it out, which saw Paris take the lead at times, it was Montpellier who came out on top and booked a place in the semis (32-31). Before that match, the sides had clashed in LSLS action at the Sud de France Arena in early December, an occasion that saw Raul Gonzalez's men get the better of their opponents, thanks notably to 14 saves from Titi and nine goals from Nedim (24-32). After this final, there will be one more meeting between the two sides this season: their Lidl Starligue clash at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin on 20 April.

Key stats

In terms of stats, Paris Saint-Germain Handball have the upper hand over Montpellier. After three matches in the competition, Paris have a goal difference of +20, with 95 goals  scored and just 75 conceded - compared to Montpellier's 93 scored and 76 conceded. In individual terms, the categories are all dominated by Parisians. In attack, Sander Sagosen is the competition's top scorer with 18 goals (including nine in the quarter-final versus Nantes). At the other end of the court, Thierry Omeyer leads the saves count with 42 saves at a rate of 43%. This will be the last-ever match for Omeyer in the Coupe de la Ligue, and it's a chance for him to lift the trophy for a seventh time.

To follow the match (Throw-off at 16:00)

• Television: beIN SPORTS 3

• Live tweet: our official page

(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)