21.04.2016, 12:49
Zagreb hope to surprise PSG in third encounter this season

QUARTER-FINAL PREVIEW: Zagreb take on PSG and hope to end their winning strike. PSG want to go a step further, after losing two consecutive years in the quarter-finals.

Zagreb hope to surprise PSG in third encounter this season

HC PPD Zagreb and Paris Saint-Germain Handball will meet for the third time this season, but this time it is in the quarter-final where stakes are higher. Over two games, both teams want to book their tickets to Cologne for the first time.

HC PPD Zagreb (CRO) vs Paris Saint-Germain Handball (FRA)
Saturday 23 April, 20.30 hrs local time, live on ehfTV

Both Zagreb and PSG lost last year in the quarter-finals and failed to qualify for the VELUX EHF FINAL4. That was not a big disappointment for Zagreb who faced FC Barcelona Lassa and had slim chances of winning against the later on winner.

On the other hand, PSG lost two consecutive quarter-finals in the past two years against MVM Veszprém. Now they hope that the third time is the charm and that they will finally play under the spotlights of LANXESS arena in Cologne.

Now, it is going to be the third encounter this season between Zagreb and PSG. The first one, played in Paris, ended up with a huge 34:23 win for the hosts. Coach Noka Serdarusic outsmarted the Croatian champions who played one of the worst matches of the season.

The second match played in the packed Arena Zagreb was almost the second big surprise Zagreb fans have seen this season, after THW Kiel fell in Round 1. Nevertheless, the stars of Paris Saint-Germain did not allow anything like that to happen, so they eventually won 25:23.

Before the most important clash of the season, Zagreb have injury problems. Sandro Obranovic is definitely not having a comeback in this season. His shoulder injury got worse and now he needs to undergo a surgery. Luka Sebetic's appearance on court is still doubtful for Saturday due to torn hamstrings.

Even though they have problems, Zagreb still believe they have a chance of winning with interesting solutions on the right back position.

"There are some cracks in PSG's game that we can use. They are not extraterrestrials, they are people of flesh and blood just like us. We are focused on our defensive tactics and we are practicing attack with three right-handed players in the back. It is not going to be easy to play 60 minutes with three right-handers, so Zlatko Horvat is helping by playing on the right back position," explained Domagoj Pavlović to ehfCL.com.

PSG seem to be on the roll now and are pumped up with confidence. The recent win against Fenix Toulouse Handball secured them another title in the French Championship and now the next goal is the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in Cologne. Apart from Xavier Barachet, everyone is fit to play on Saturday in Arena Zagreb.

"From now on, we are preparing for Zagreb. We can talk about tactics, but if we are off to a bad start, all tactical preparation goes to waste. I think we all know each other very well and in the next few days we won’t learn anything new, it’s very hard to expect that we can surprise each other.

"We need to focus only on our game and concentrate for 120 minute of good fight and sport war on court," said Igor Vori to ehfCL.com.

After Zagreb won in Mannheim, coach Veselin Vujovic said to Croatian television that no one wins three straight times in one season against him. Seems like his players also share his mindset and think they can win for the first time against a star-filled team of PSG.

"We have to be concentrated on our game, our engagement and I think we can do anything," said Pavlovic whose team will showcase new jerseys for the next season in this spectacular match in the Arena Zagreb.

PSG, on the other hand, hope they can win against Zagreb for the third time this season. "I hope this match won’t be third time's the charm for Zagreb, but the first match won’t decide who goes to Cologne anyway," concluded Vori. 

TEXT: Jelena Bagarić / es, br