Thanks to their hard-fought victory over Szeged (29-28) at Coubertin, Paris Saint-Germain has officially secured a place in the EHF Champions League play-offs. It now remains to be seen how far Stefan Madsen's men can go, as they aim for a seventh consecutive victory in all competitions since the return from the winter break. Fifth in Group B, behind Szeged on goal difference, the capital club still has two matches to try to finish higher and clinch a home return leg in the play-offs. To make that happen, it all starts with a strong performance in Pelister!
Despite posting a perfect record so far in 2026, the Parisians have yet to regain the form they showed at the end of 2025, when they were clearly gaining momentum. As evidenced by their hard-fought victories against Aix (32-28) and Dijon (27-34) in the league, Les Rouge et Bleu sometimes struggle to fully control a match, a sign that they still have room for improvement and that the squad needs to keep working hard to regain their rhythm.
Stefan Madsen's men have nevertheless produced some superb passages of play since the start of the year, such as the first quarter of an hour against Szeged, which was close to perfection, with the attacking moves flowing beautifully. With players such as Elohim Prandi, Kamil Syprzak and Jannick Green - who has posted impressive statistics in 2026 - all in fine form, the capital club has everything it needs to hope for a successful second half of the season.
Paris will face an old acquaintance in Pelister, whom they are playing in the Champions League for the third consecutive season. The reverse fixture was a real battle at Coubertin, and the Macedonians almost pulled off an upset in the capital before letting their lead slip at the very end of the match (33-27).
Since that Matchday 2 clash, the two teams have had mixed fortunes on the European stage. With nine defeats in twelve matches, Pelister can no longer qualify for the play-offs, while the Parisians have secured their place in the next round of the competition. However, there is no room for complacency in a venue where it is difficult to win.
Stevche Alushovski's men have picked up all five of their points at home, notably beating Szeged (25-24) and narrowly missing out on a draw against Barcelona (30-34). In front of a raucous Bitola crowd, the team is capable of rising to the occasion, and Les Rouge et Bleu will have to rise to the challenge to keep their momentum going.
After four consecutive defeats in Europe, the Macedonians ended their losing streak by taking a point away at GOG (28-28) last week - despite trailing by four goals at half-time. This is clearly a team that never gives up and could cause problems for the Parisians. A word of warning to the Rouge et Bleu defence: Pelister is the fourth-best team for penalties this season (45 scored from 58 attempts, a 77.6% success rate).
On the other hand, they also have the worst attack in the competition, with just 307 goals scored. Stevche Alushovski's men have scored 30+ goals just once in twelve games, compared to eight times for the capital club. With a goalkeeper in fine form and attacking weapons that shine on the European stage - Elohim Prandi is the competition's second-highest scorer (95 goals) - Paris seem to have the quality to avoid a slip-up. This is an opportunity to record three consecutive Champions League victories for the first time this season and remain unbeaten against their opponents on the night
Zagreb, already eliminated, and Plock, guaranteed to finish third, will kick off Matchday 13 at 18:45 on Wednesday, just before Paris Saint-Germain's match. A win would put pressure on Szeged, who face GOG the following day at 18:45. Thursday evening will conclude at 20:45 with the headline clash in Germany between the top two teams in Group B, Magdeburg and Barcelona.
The match between Pelister and Paris will take place at the Boro Čurlevski Hall in Bitola on Wednesday 4 March 2026. With throw-off set for 20:45, the match will be broadcast exclusively on Eurosport 2.
