Beaten by Barcelona (27-30) last week after a hard-fought victory away to GOG (28-31), our Parisians are looking to find some consistency. Next week's trip to Catalonia for the last European fixture of the year promises to be particularly difficult, and three consecutive poor performances could complicate matters for Stefan Madsen's side.
However, it will take a huge effort to defeat Xavi Sabate's men, who have only been beaten by Barcelona (twice) and Magdeburg in the first eight matchdays. Comfortably sitting in third place in Group B, the Poles are four points ahead of our Rouge et Bleu and will be looking to extend their lead even further to keep their hopes of direct qualification for the quarter-finals alive. This match at Coubertin promises to be an exciting one between two teams who seem to have no room for error.
Despite winning all of their first nine clashes with the Poles, our Rouge et Bleu were forced to concede defeat in their last two encounters with Plock. First in February at Coubertin during the group stage (28-31), then earlier this season in a heated Orlen Arena (35-32). While Xavi Sabate's men led for most of the match at Coubertin a few months ago, the defeat in Poland earlier this season was more bitter.
Paris started the match at full throttle, quickly taking a five-point lead (15': 5-10), before seeing Plock get their noses in front for the first time in the 40th minute and never letting the Rouge et Bleu regain control. In addition to the stakes in terms of the standings, the Parisians will be looking to end their losing streak against the Poles and try to win their last European home game of the year.
This summer, there have been many changes in the Parisian ranks, as well as in those of Plock. Our Rouge et Bleu welcomed no fewer than seven new faces, not counting the arrivals of Stefan Madsen and Henrik Mollgaard on the bench. These recruits quickly adapted to the pace of the capital club and the Danish coach's tactics.
With the best save percentage in the Liqui Moly StarLigue (35.19%), Mikkel Lovkvist has been particularly decisive and is also performing well in his first season in Europe's premier club competition. In defence, Karl Konan is proving that his reputation as the best defender in the French league over the past few seasons is well deserved.
Plock can say the same, however, with the notable arrival of Melvyn Richardson from Barcelona. The competition's ixth-highest scorer after eight games (52 goals) and with 10 goals against Paris a few weeks ago, the French international will certainly need to be kept in check to slow down the Poles' attacks.
Matchday 9, the penultimate of the year, promises to be another exciting one. In addition to the clash between our Parisians and Plock, several other matches could prove to be turning points in this group stage.
After defeating Szeged a few weeks ago, Pelister will be looking to repeat the feat in front of their home crowd by getting a result against Magdeburg, the untouchable leaders so far, on Wednesday evening. On Thursday, GOG will in turn be hoping to spring an upset in their prestigious clash with Barcelona at the Arena Svendborg. Finally, at the same time, Zagreb could see their hopes of qualifying all but officially dashed if they lose for the ninth time in as many matches, this time away to Szeged.
Tickets are still available to attend this final European match of the year at Coubertin! For those who cannot make it to the west of Paris, the match will be broadcast on Eurosport 2, and the main highlights will be available to follow via our live tweet.
