France - LNH Proligue, Round 25

GRAND BESANÇON DOUBS HANDBALL VS ASSY ESSONNE HB 04/ 09/ 2024 - 8:30 PM

Play wide
Besançon failed to capitalize on Tremblay's relaxation. They did manage to score 33 goals, but they conceded 45 against the offensive powerhouse. When this team plays in a relaxed manner, it becomes very difficult to defend against them. However, it also highlighted the weaknesses and defensive difficulties of the Besançon players. Massy, averaging 28.5 goals per game, could exploit the opponents' weaknesses to score more than 32 goals. But their 8-goal defeat against Nancy is not reassuring. Nevertheless, we believe they can do it.

They have a real ace up their sleeve: the expansiveness of their game. The backs have the ability to play very wide. Not necessarily to finish outside, but to execute their wide movements and open up spaces. The players from Besançon could easily find themselves isolated. This will allow Elyas Bouadjadja to continue taking responsibility. The young right back, developed through the Massy training program, continues to gain playing time and showcase his shooting ability from mid-distance, as well as his dueling skills, making him one of the top scorers alongside Thibault Chevalier. These two will exploit the spaces created, and often left, by their opponents.

On the other hand, in attack, Besançon should also have the upper hand against the opposing defense. Once again, Lucas Jametal will play a key role. The Besançon back leverages his physical qualities to consistently engage towards the goal. He is sharp and has the desire to be decisive. For this match, he will be assisted by Enzo Handjou inside. This pivot, with an impressive physique, should have a consistent positional advantage against the opposing pivot's height. He won't go for that height but will position himself advantageously against the defenders who remain low.

They should also surpass 30 goals. Therefore, we expect a close match with less than two goals difference, where a draw is possible. The score should be around 32 goals.


CAEN HANDBALL VS BILLERE HANDBALL PAU PYRÉNÉES
04/09/ 2024 - 8:30 PM

Thinking ahead
Finally, they did it! Caen has finally moved out of the relegation zone after months and months in the penultimate position. They are now 14th with a one-point lead over Angers. The battle is fierce and will remain so until the last day, so every point gained here or there will be essential for survival. They face Billère on Tuesday evening, three days after their one- point victory against Valence. As for the Béarnais, they had a completely uneventful match and won with enthusiasm 34-27 against Sarrebourg as announced. Billère's defense has taken precedence over the opposing attack and is likely to cause a lot of problems for Caen's offense. We should once again see effective connections with Jordan Allais inside. Through his movements, he will exploit the depth of the opposing defense. However, Allan Villeminot is expected to be less comfortable facing the aggressiveness of the Palois. Indeed, they are accustomed, and their game plan focuses on impacting the shooters' arms in all situations. Allan Villeminot should therefore find fewer opportunities to shoot up close or above the heads of the opposing shooters. Alexandre Aguilar and Valentin Tarricot, Billère's rugged defenders, will keep a close eye. They will once again help their goalkeeper Joris Labro to deliver a great performance. He, who has just signed for 2 seasons with Pontault- Combault, has real reaction and close-range game qualities. That's why Billère's project prefers to focus on impacting rather than managing the shooter/goalkeeper relationship to make the most of the latter's qualities. Caen should therefore not exceed 28 goals. But will they manage to slow down this Billère attack?

We don't think so; that's where the problem lies. Dorian Vallet should once again be one of the top scorers for his team due to the quality of his long-distance shots. He should not be put in difficulty due to the lack of depth in the Caen defenders because they are often late in their exits. The long-range shooting specialists on the Billère side should have a field day.
That's why we envision a controlled victory for Billère with a score around 33-28. It is therefore likely that during the match, Sébastien Quintallet, the Caen coach, will make rapid changes to allow his players to conserve physical energy for the next match. And why is that? Simply because a crucial four-point match for survival awaits the Normans with a trip to Angers ahead of them.


ISTRES PROVENCE HANDBALL VS TREMBLAY-EN-FRANCE HANDBALL 09/04/2024 - 8PM

Room for pride
A great match is in store as the second-placed team hosts the first-placed team. Tremblay completely dominated last Thursday. In total confidence, they did relax their defensive grip a bit but exploited all the qualities of their attackers. Especially those who played a little less. This confidence brought a very appreciable fluidity to the game and allowed them to reach 45 goals. It's not every weekend that we can see so many goals. But against Istres, the balance of power will be much more even. The pride of some stars of the Istres team could allow them to achieve a big performance.

There is certainly no match in terms of fluidity of play, where Tremblay's game is much more structured in continuity. Istres really struggles to string together strong periods to put all their players in success. So the game is rather based around the initial phases and therefore the success or failure of the individuals. But as we mentioned, the pride of these great players could transform the opposition. Facing the top team in the championship, who have only lost once this year, should bring a challenge to the Provençal team. They should therefore rise to the occasion and put Tremblay in difficulties. Conversely, Tremblay just has to have fun and enjoy playing well collectively until the end of the year. And the cake is shared among all the players. Cherif Amani makes an effort to give playing time to all his athletes. They repay him well and are consistently effective when given minutes. Tremblay should therefore easily exceed 33 goals once again.
But where the real difference could be made is in this duel of goalkeepers. Vincent Gérard for Istres against Cyril Dumoulin for Tremblay. Two goalkeepers who have regularly been in the French national team. This is still the case for Vincent with his fierce desire to reach the Olympic Games. Istres' goalkeeper has always been the man of exploits, and he could still be that on Tuesday evening.

If that's the case, Istres could win; otherwise, logic should prevail. Tremblay could therefore win with mastery, 38-33.


NANCY HANDBALL VS ANDBALL CLUB COURNON D’AUVERGNE 09/04/ 2024 - 8PM

A new dimension?
So here we have a matchup with two teams that managed to surprise us last Friday night. Indeed, Nancy prevailed masterfully against Massy with a finally rediscovered attack, winning 28-36. Meanwhile, Cournon managed to snatch victory at the last moment with a decisive goal from Robin Dourte against Sélestat. It was a great performance against the 4th-placed team in the championship, especially considering they were trailing by 3 goals with 10 minutes left in the match. They thus spectacularly turned the tide. Success is on their side, and they aim to keep it for this trip to Nancy.
But Nancy, with their 36 goals, finally managed to exploit the quality of their individuals. As evidence, the scoring was very evenly distributed. If this is the start of a new cycle, the Nancy team could climb up the rankings and reclaim their position by mid-season. Currently 9th with 19 points, they would like to surpass Frontignan, who are fifth with 22 points. In any case, the playoffs are within reach. But it's still necessary to reproduce this quality of offensive play. We'll have to wait until Tuesday to find out.

Rohnan Conte Prat should once again use his height in one-on-one situations to win his duels. He will still finish among the top scorers of the match but will need support. Thibaud Valentin, a future transfer, could exploit his very low center of gravity to win his duels in the axis of the opposing defense. Faced with the two opposing towers, his small stature should allow him to slip between the two low number 3 players. However, their project and their profiles may not necessarily fit against the Auvergne team. They, who are rather low, should manage all long-range shooters through their relationship between the block and the goalkeeper. Nancy should therefore once again settle for 28 goals. But that should be enough.

The physical density of the Nancy players will allow them to handle the duels of Lucas Musy and the long-range shots of Nori Benhalima. Cournon's attack should therefore be reduced to less than 28 goals as well. Laurent Lagier Pitre could fare well physically and be the top scorer for his team.

The match will be tight but should end with a victory for Nancy by a score of around 28 to 26. It's the first step in the race towards the playoffs.


PONTAULT-COMBAULT HANDBALL VS JS CHERBOURGEOISE MANCHE 09/04/2024 - 8:30 PM

Fashionable defense
Pontault has been disappointing in recent weeks, with two consecutive losses. One was a significant defeat against Tremblay a week ago, and the other occurred this Friday against Frontignan. They will need to bounce back from these setbacks. They are eagerly awaiting Cherbourg's arrival.
Cherbourg, on the other hand, had a rest this Friday, so they will come fresh for this matchup. Pontault-Combault will have had only three days to regenerate and prepare for the game.
They will need all their energy to find solutions against the best defense in the championship, as Cherbourg concedes only 27.7 goals per match. Kevin Taufond, averaging 8 goals per match, will have a tough task ahead to challenge the technical abilities of Thomas Loppy, Cherbourg's exclusive defender. This lively center-back should still manage to win his duels occasionally to find himself in a shooting position up close. But even if achieved, the challenge remains to beat the exceptional goalkeeper, which is the real difficulty. Nicolas Gauthier, with almost 11 saves per match and a success rate of around 32%, is naturally and by far the best goalkeeper in the Proligue in terms of statistics. His experience in Finland has brought him a new dimension without losing his knowledge of Proligue shooters.

For all these reasons, Pontault-Combault is likely to be limited to less than 26 goals. However, this may not be enough for Cherbourg to win because a decisive duel awaits in this confrontation. It is a battle between Nicolas Bono, arguably considered the best playmaker in the championship, and Aurélien Padolus, considered the best defender.
We anticipate Nicolas Bono to be as brilliant as ever but perhaps less incisive than in other matchups. Ultimately, the game is likely to be played in open space following the exploitation of their defensive quality. In this aspect of the game, Pontault- Combault, with their two sharpshooters on the wings, Elio Zammit and Alex Moran, should make the difference as the top scorers of the evening.

Under these conditions, we expect a victory for Pontault-Combault by a narrow scoreline, around 28 to 26.


SARREBOURG MOSELLE SUD HANDBALL VS ANGERS SCO HANDBALL 09/04/2024 - 8:30 PM

Physical collapse
Sarrebourg is coming off a real disappointment and a match they hadn't experienced in a while. They were dominated from start to finish by Billere, who won 34-27. They are hosting Angers, who find themselves, as expected, second to last after their defeat against Istres. However, Istres played a fairly decent match despite their 7-goal loss. With their heads down, the Angevins will now face a series of key matches against their direct rivals for survival. This first away game against Sarrebourg and the subsequent match against Caen are crucial for them to gather points if they don't want to finish in last place.

So, let's talk about this clash of styles between Sarrebourg and Angers. On one side, we have Marius Randriantseheno initiating strong moments for Sarrebourg. He constantly tries to beat the defense with his feints, switching from right to left to ultimately pierce through the defense. He either finishes isolated or sets up his backcourt shooters. It's likely that Issam Tej will choose his layered defense again to keep the opposing playmaker at bay. This will also force the backcourt players to attempt solo actions. However, the spaces left by the defense will be exploited by Sarrebourg, especially through the entrance of Dylan Grandjean. He will use all his determination to navigate through the intervals and capitalize on the spaces created by the opposing defense.

On the other side, Angers will utilize a lot of movements to put their smaller backs in motion. Since very few players manage to win their duels, it's necessary that the plays lead to solutions. The absence of Achraf Saafi reduces the possibilities of connections with Fares Ghoul, who is thus less involved. Only Filip Vucevic poses a threat, but he tires as the match progresses and becomes less sharp. This scenario is likely to repeat itself. The lack of rotation will prevent Angers from holding up physically against stronger and heavier opponents.

Angers is therefore expected to succumb gradually during the match, wearing down against the opposing defense. The final result could be around 31-27 in favor of Sarrebourg.

VALENCE HANDBALL VS FRONTIGNAN THAU HANDBALL 10/04/2024 - 8:30 PM

A question of rhythm

Valence was caught off guard in Caen, while Frontignan surprised and won by two goals against Pontault- Combault. However, Frontignan has been relegated with 4 points deducted by the CNACG, and they chose not to appeal. Needless to say, things are not looking good for them in Hérault. Meanwhile, Valence remains 5 points clear of the relegation zone. It would be wise for them to secure their position against an inconsistent team. After their feat against Pontault, they may raise their level to match their opponents tonight.

This might come to fruition because Frontignan could be frustrated by the slow pace imposed by Valence. While they prefer a fast-paced game, they will need to be patient and stay defensively focused to turn the tide. However, the weaknesses in the Frontignan central axis will leave space for long-range shots from William Benezit, the left-handed right back, and the American international Aboubakar Fofana. The latter will use his suspension to position himself above the block and engage directly with the goalkeeper.

This is why we believe there could be a surprise. Valence's style of play does not suit the Hérault team at all. Coupled with the current financial problems, players may be more focused on finding a club than fighting for their flag. The only downside is that their defensive volume will open up space for the opposing pivot, who is in good form at the moment. Adria Léon Morales scored 12 goals last Friday. However, we expect Aziz Benkahla to instruct his troops to drop slightly to manage this issue. Therefore, we anticipate a surprise victory for Valence with a scoreline around 31-29. This would almost certainly secure their safety for the season.