Barça, leaders of Group B of the Champions League, host Paris Saint Germain this Thursday (8:45 pm), the eternal contender for the title, at the Palau Blaugrana, in a key clash for both teams in order to continue in the privileged positions of the table.
The Catalans, after their victory on the last day against Dinamo Bucharest, lead with three wins and one loss Group B tied with Polish Kielce and Hungarian Veszprém. PSG is fourth, with two wins, a draw and a defeat, just one point behind the Barça fans.
Curiously, both Catalans with Parisians have lost on the Veszprém track (29-28 and 34-31, respectively) and this is one more factor to take into account tomorrow. Barça arrives as undefeated leader in the ASOBAL League, after winning in a resounding way on the track at Recoletas Atlético Valladolid (24-40).
On his return to European competition, Antonio Carlos Ortega will already be able to count on the French pivot Ludovic Fabregas, who returns to the squad after being absent in Valladolid due to the birth of his first child, and also with the Slovenian winger Blanz Janc, who has overcome a feverish process.
The coach of the Barça team is waiting to recover too Croatian central Luka Cindric, intervened for the injury he suffered to his left shoulder on September 17.
The positive is being the good moment of Aitor Ariño and Timothey N ‘Guessan after returning from his injuries, the step forward taken by the young Slovenian central defender Domen Makuc in the direction of the team and the extraordinary effectiveness of French side Dika Mem, top scorer in the competition with 31 goals.
PSG, also leader and undefeated in the French leagueHe visits the Palau, where he has never won, aware that there is a lot at stake in the stake, since a defeat could leave him off the hook for one of the first two places in the group.
Valladolid Raúl González, coach of the French team, has an important challenge this season. His team, a finalist in the Champions League in 2017 and third in the Final Four in 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2021, hopes to achieve their great goal, the title.
For this, despite the casualties of Viran Morros (Füchse Berlin) and Dylan Nahi (Kielce), has maintained its powerful squad, which has only been added to the Dutch central Luk Steins, who arrived midway through last season to cover the loss of Nikola Karabatic due to injury.
Five men are the backbone of the team: international goalkeeper Vincent Gerard; the Danish left-back Mikkel Hansen, his top scorer (24 goals), the Polish pivot Kamil Syprzak (ex-Blaugrana replaced two years ago by Luís Frade), the Catalan left-handed winger Ferran Solé and, of course, its undisputed leader, the central Nikola Karbatic.
Ortega, cautious
Barça coach Antonio Carlos Ortega He warned that to beat PSG this Thursday at the Palau Blaugrana, they will have to play “a very serious game” and that they will also need “more than ever” the support of the fans.
Despite the fact that the French champion arrives at the meeting with a balance of two victories, a draw and a defeat, Ortega stressed that it is “one of the most powerful teams in Europe”. “Perhaps it is a more stable team on its track, but it is a powerful squad with two high-level players in each position,” said the Barça coach.