PSG look confidently to their debut FINAL4

Never has a team won by eight goals away and gone on to be eliminated in the quarter-final stage of the VELUX EHF Champions League – a statistic that shows how difficult, and almost unthinkable, the challenge that awaits HC Prvo plinarsko drustvo Zagreb in Paris is.

But with a ticket to the VELUX EHF FINAL4 – which would be a first for either team – at stake, the Croatian side travel to France motivated to record a trademark surprise in the second-leg quarter-final.

Paris Saint-Germain Handball (FRA) vs HC Prvo plinarsko drustvo Zagreb (CRO)
Sunday 1 May, 17:00 local time live on ehfTV

PSG coach Noka Serdarusic said he could not see how Zagreb could turn the situation around after they lost 20:28 in the first-leg quarter-final match at home.

Even if the Croatian side possess all the will in the world ahead of the return fixture, it is difficult to find reasons to contradict Serdarusic, and it would seem his players agree.

"I don't think the score really reflected the difference between the two teams," said Igor Vori in Zagreb last Saturday after his team secured their first quarter-final victory.

"I want to congratulate my compatriots for what they've done up to this point, but I can't see them qualifying this Sunday."

Zagreb, who will again miss Luka Stepancic, Luka Sebetic and Sandro Obranovic on Sunday in the French capital, will at least want to give a good impression during the game.

But PSG are on the hunt to win everything this season, as Vori explains:

"We don't want to stop playing – we must use every occasion we have to get better and to please our fans," says the Croatian line player.

Despite their strong advantage heading into the second-leg match, PSG will be ready to focus for sixty minutes on Sunday.

The team have yet to lose a game at home, either in the VELUX EHF Champions League or in national competitions, and therefore hope to end the season with a clean record – and they are looking good to do so with their top stars in fine form and Mikkel Hansen leading the top-scorer race with 116 goals so far this season.  

Considering their tight playing schedule this could be an opportunity for Serdarusic to give some playing time to those more accustomed to the bench, but no matter who spends most time on court, fans can expect PSG to show no mercy with their first FINAL4 almost within reach.