On Thursday, Paris Saint-Germain Handball travel to North Macedonia to take on Pelister on the EHF Champions League group stage's 14th and final matchday. The stakes are clear for the capital club: get the win and hope for favourable results elsewhere to avoid having to go through the play-offs.
Beware the Macedonian trap
This Pelister team is definitely nothing like the one from last season, which shared a tough group with the capital club and ended its campaign with zero points. As early as the opening matchday of the current campaign, the North Macedonians shone, putting on a good show at Coubertin and coming close to surprising our Parisians (31-29). This was followed by a few highlights, such as a hard-fought draw against Sporting (24-24) and an historic victory against Plock (21-18). Although they showed more maturity and experience, Pelister did not, however, achieve the long-hoped-for feat. Despite having eight points on the board, the Bitola-based team were eliminated from the race for the playoffs. Branislav Angelovski's men are thus preparing to take on Les Rouge et Bleu without any pressure - and in front of a packed house.
So Paris have been warned: this Macedonian team is one to be wary of, as they are capable of turning in strong performances, especially at home. All the pressure will be on the Parisians in Bitola this Thursday: with their destiny no longer in their own hands, Les Rouge et Bleu will first and foremost need to claim victory. Then, to qualify directly for the quarter-finals, they will have to hope that Sporting slip up in Plock and that Berlin follow suit away to Veszprém. With two home defeats in 2025 and an away win in Fredericia (32-38), it is now time for Paris to balance their record in the new year.
Goal scorers face off
With 84 goals so far, Kamil Syprzak is very much in the running to become the EHF Champions League's top scorer. Even though he has played one match fewer than Mario Sostaric, who currently tops the chart with 91 goals, our Polish pivot is still within striking distance and could prove crucial against Pelister. Whether Kamil emerges as the match's top scorer, however, depends somewhat on Filip Kuzmanovski. The Pelister left-back is only five goals behind Kamil and will undoubtedly be looking to treat his fans to a final performance to remember. In the first leg, the Macedonian international finished as his team's top scorer with eight goals to his name, three fewer than our number 21. Having scored another seven goals in Berlin last week, Kuzmanovski is in great form, and our lads will have to redouble their efforts to keep the Macedonian star from getting too confident.
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Key stats...
- 100%. With three wins in three matches, Paris have a 100% win record against Pelister.
- 14. On Thursday, the capital club will face a North Macedonian team for the 14th time in its history. Against Vardar, Metalurg Skopje and Pelister, Les Rouge et Bleu have a solid record of nine wins, two draws and one defeat.
- 5. Les Rouge et Bleu have won their final Champions League group stage matchday clash in five of the last six seasons.
The tension in 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 🅰️ is unreal! 😬
— EHF Champions League (@ehfcl) March 3, 2025
Who will survive the race for 2nd place and move on to the 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿-𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀? 🏆 #ehfcl #CLM #handball pic.twitter.com/WAjAdDPDkW
Group A's Matchday 14 fixtures
Thursday 6 March,18:45: Veszprém - Füchse Berlin
Thursday 6 March, 18:45: Fredericia - Dinamo Bucharest
Thursday 6 March, 20:45: Wisla Plock - Sporting CP
Thursday 6 March, 20:45: Pelister - Paris, broadcast on Eurosport 2 and to be followed on our live-tweet.
(Credits: L.Valroff/PSG)