LFH Division 1, Women Round 15

METZ HANDBALL VS AMAND HANDBALL – PORTE DU HAINAULT
07/02/24 CET 18:30

Through ...

Metz, having recently qualified easily for the semi-finals of the Coupe de France this weekend, faces St Amand, who is now solely focused on avoiding relegation in the Butagaz Energie league. And God knows it's far from guaranteed. They currently have 22 points, just 1 point away from the relegation zone. After their impressive victory against Plan de Cuques at home, they now face a formidable opponent. Metz has left little room for doubt since the beginning of the year, even though their dominance in the championship is less pronounced this year. Therefore, we should not expect any surprises this weekend.

However, we might witness excellence in shooting techniques, a quality inherent in Metz Handball's attackers. Alina Grijseels, the German international center, is one of the specialists. Metz's style of play, based on quality passes and combinations, allows them, when the distance is right, to shoot very close to the defense and use their wrist skills to surprise opposing goalkeepers. The lack of defensive intentions from Saint Amand will naturally open the door to these kinds of situations. This will enable the Metz players to control the distance they desire to be in good shooting condition. Alina and Anna Mette Hansen are expected to score a lot this Wednesday.

On the opposing side, the same principle applies, but the defensive intentions of the Metz players will disrupt the desired shooting distance. Maelle Chalmandrier, who is a specialist and demonstrated it in the last match, should still score a lot, but not necessarily in optimal conditions. It is in this regard that it will be perceived that she is forcing her game. The same goes for Louison Boisorieux, who has recently extended her contract with St Amand for another year. This decision is entirely logical given her consistently high-quality performances. In addition to her engaging one-on-ones, she should attempt shots to surprise the Metz defense. However, it is not certain that she will always be in the right condition. To achieve that, the players of Edina Bosos would need to control their combinations and wait for a small window to open. However, Bosos's players clearly struggle with patience. This will result in forced shots, naturally stopped by the ruthless goalkeeper duo of Metz. This will further boost Chloé Valentini's statistics on the counter-attack. She should once again secure her title as the top scorer in the league.

As mentioned earlier, little room for a surprise, but rather a convincing victory for Metz Handball by more than 10 goals and surpassing the 35-goal mark.

ES BESANÇON FÉMININ VS JDA BOURGOGNE DIJON HANDBALL
07/02/24 CET 19:00

Regularity vs. irregularity
If we assess the irregularity in the performance and commitment of the Besançon players, after a match without it in Mérignac, this time it should be a match with it. They face Dijon, a team at the opposite end in terms of consistency every weekend. This indicates great team cohesion and mastery of their subject. But what is happening on the Dijon side? With the suspension of their coach Christophe Mazel, the handball world is surprised given the results of his team. Nothing else has been communicated at the time of writing, except that his replacement will be Anthony Favier, the director of the training center. This could completely disrupt the consistency and cohesion felt. What about his daughter Alice Mazel, who is part of the team? Certainly not an easy situation to navigate.

But as mentioned earlier, Dijon's offensive play is balanced. A slightly Montpellier-style game, based on the initial one-on-one followed by a game reading. Either the ability to finish on the wings or the ability to cross if the first one-on-one has unbalanced the defender. The rather zone defense of Besançon should leave spaces in the outer intervals or on the through shots of Stine Norklit Lonborg, the small but highly skilled Danish left back. However, beware, as the regular inverted exit work of the #1 in defense on the Besançon side can completely disrupt the Dijon players' ability to create openings. Therefore, it is understandable that Dijon may face offensive difficulties because their qualities suit the project established by Sébastien Mizoule, the Besançon coach, to exploit the strengths of their goalkeepers—performing well on the wings and reading long-distance shots.

On the Burgundian defensive side, the volume created by the 4 in defense should open spaces, intervals for Alizée Frécon Demouges. What a pleasure to see her engage and traverse an interval. Certainly one of the best in the league in this regard. She manages to play without the ball, running early and at full speed into a space to traverse it. Therefore, we foresee a surprise this Wednesday with Besançon winning. Hopefully, we haven't got the day wrong considering their irregularity. In a tight match that should be played around 27 goals, we expect a late surge from Besançon to secure victory by just a few lengths.

PARIS 92 VS OGC NICE CÔTE D’AZUR HANDBALL
07/02/24 CET 19:00

Grey skies over Nice
The sky darkens for Nice. They are on a streak of 6 consecutive losses in the league and suffered a defeat in the French Cup last weekend. Lately, they have been conceding a significant number of goals. After a decent start to the season, they are now descending inexorably into the depths of the standings. They are currently just one point above the relegation zone. This Wednesday, they face a challenging away game in Paris against one of the contenders for the championship. Paris 92 is coming off two encounters against Brest (Matchday 14 and quarter-final of the French Cup), resulting in two losses against the league leaders. Therefore, they need to quickly regain the taste for victory to maintain their objectives until the end of the season.

Nonetheless, it should be a closely contested match. When not disturbed by the defensive intentions of the opponents, Nice can freely exploit their movements, resulting in dynamic play with sequences of strong moments and coherent continuity. However, if the opposing team implements defensive strategies to disrupt the timings and runs of Nice, their play becomes sterile and static. Fortunately for Nice, this is not expected to be the case this weekend, at least in the center, with two low #3 players from Paris who do not put depth. Thus, Tena Petika is expected to be successful with effective runs towards the goal.

But will this be enough? They must also find a way to block the Parisian attack, a challenging task given the individual quality of their players. Jannela Blonbou, who exploits the duelist's game perfectly, only needs to position herself in the intervals or crosses to create shooting opportunities. There is little chance, therefore, that Nice will reduce the offensive efficiency of Yacine Messaoudi's players. The weaknesses in one-on-one situations of Marie Fall or Tena Petika, the low #3 players from Nice, should give way to dueling players like Coura Kanouté, the substitute left-back for Paris.

The match is expected to conclude with many goals on both sides. However, without surprise, a victory for Paris 92 with more than 35 goals on the scoreboard and Jannela Blonbou among the top scorers.


HANDBALL PLAN DE CUQUES VS PM MÉRIGNAC HANDBALL
07/02/24 CET 19:30

Provençal strength
Mérignac, recently out of the relegation zone, is heading this time to Ambrosis in the warm and unique arena of Plan de Cuques. The latter, coming off a stumble in the Far North, had a match that played out in the final possessions and could have easily swung in their favor.

The speed and passing quality of the Plan de Cuques players are expected to unsettle the Bordeaux defense. The Provençales' ability to play wide, coupled with ball speed, will naturally set the defense in motion and widen the spaces between the players. Manon Grimaud, with her movements and runs in the intervals, can initiate focal points that create openings towards the wings. Therefore, Justine Martel and Bellonet Chloé, the two wingers of Plan de Cuques, are likely to have many opportunities for breakthroughs. A real duel will take place between the wingers and Le Borgne Léna. Efficient in dealing with winger shots, Léna is a goalkeeper who can read the arms of opposing wingers. Successfully moving her to open up space and returning is an effective strategy against her.

On the other side, Nele Antonissen is in great form, as evidenced by her last performance against Besançon with 10 goals against a reputable goalkeeper in the league. Her devastating duels and game reading should challenge Elizabet Chavez, the low #3 from Provence. Nele's speed against Elizabet's lack of mobility should create real focal points, either solely for the attacker, as the support in Plan de Cuques is often distant, or through an additional pass. Unfortunately, the Mérignac back players struggle to exploit the solutions in the 1-2 interval. The game of Christophe Chagnard's players is expected to be limited to central strong moments or skipping passes to the wingers. They are likely to score less in this match considering the qualities of Jemima Kabeya, the Plan de Cuques goalkeeper, against long-distance shooters.

Therefore, we anticipate a victory for Plan de Cuques by more than 5 goals, leaving Mérignac with only 24 goals.


TOULON MÉTROPOLE VAR HANDBALL VS CHAMBRAY TOURAINE HANDBALL
07/02/24 CET 18:30

Defence or not?
Toulon, coming off a significant defeat against the Neptunes of Nantes by conceding 45 goals, is facing Chambray. However, how will they recover from this loss? Allowing 45 goals is very rare at this level. They seem to have completely forgotten to defend, which has been a consistent issue since the beginning of the year with a defensive setup where players are far apart, especially considering their weaknesses in one-on-one duels. Despite an improved and appealing attacking game since the beginning of January, it won't be enough until they invest more in defense.

This time, Toulon's defense is expected to concede fewer goals. Chambray's strength lies in their wide and distant attacking movements rather than frontal duels. This should allow the Toulon players to better manage the sequences as long as they are not attacked in one-on-one situations. Switching to a 1-5 defense, girl-to-girl, might not be necessary and could fail to disrupt the Chambray players. However, Lucie Modenel, the left-back of Chambray, is likely to challenge the Toulon players in sequences with her duel quality. It is hoped that she will be utilized early in the game, but this is not always the case.

On the other hand, the match is expected to be decided by the defensive capability of Mathieu Lanfranchi's players. Will Toulon's new style of play be enough to find solutions against this compact defense? While Manon Lachaize is currently in good form, if there is a defensive closure, is she capable of delivering clean balls to her teammates? It seems not yet, but we know that improving this aspect of her game is precisely what she will be working on to become difficult to defend against. Therefore, Chambray is expected to nullify Toulon's game and make the difference primarily through fast breaks, exploiting the defensive distribution difficulties of the Varoises during transitions. Melvine Deba and Manon Houette (if she is back), the wingers of Chambray, should score a lot on the fast break, leveraging their speed and anticipation of status changes.

We anticipate a victory for Chambray Touraine Handball in a match where the margin should exceed 6 goals.


STELLA SAINT-MAUR HANDBALL VS LES NEPTUNES DE NANTES
07/02/24 CET 19:30

Nantes lets loose
Nantes is in full euphoria this week. The World Championship has significantly boosted the morale of its players, as evidenced by their impressive victory against Toulon with a score of 45-31. The team's internationals had standout performances: Tamara Horacek, Nantes' playmaker and future player for Krim Mercator, scored 7 goals; Léna Grandveau, the back player, contributed 5 goals, and pivot Onacia Ondono scored 7 goals—almost half of their team's total. It seems that the changes and future departures in the team do not impact the group's dynamic, despite the coaching changes and the announcement of 6 players leaving.

As mentioned earlier, there seems to be a lack of logic when considering that Nantes has one of the top scorers in the league but is still the lowest-scoring team. The Plotton twin sisters often account for nearly half of their team's goals. Unfortunately, this is not sufficient at this level. The attack lacks speed, engagement, and effective passing to destabilize Division 1 defenses. Additionally, their fast break is somewhat slow, and their defense makes stops but doesn't efficiently transition to fast breaks.

In terms of defense, the Horacek-Ondono partnership is likely to shine again. The Saint-Maur defense struggles against pivots, and in a physical and technical mismatch, the Nantes pivot should find numerous favorable situations in the center of the opposing defense. If not Onacia, her replacement, Anna Lagerquist, is also adept at finding small spaces to get into shooting positions.

It should be a Nantes recital with a victory by more than 13 goals. There's also the potential for another outstanding performance, possibly reaching the 40-goal mark for the second time in the week.


STRASBOURG ACHENHEIM TRUCHTERSHEIM HANDBALL
VS BREST BRETAGNE HANDBALL
07/02/24 CET 19:00

Continue their flawless performance
Brest is still on a perfect record with 13 victories in 13 championship matches. After overcoming Metz and Paris, they now face a team from the lower end of the standings. Their opponents from Strasbourg are currently 10th with 22 points and possess the worst defense in the league. This could be a cause for concern against the striking power of Brest, where danger can come from all directions. Any vulnerabilities in the defense could eventually lead to setbacks. Therefore, it's crucial for Brest to maintain their flawless record if they aim to secure the French championship.

The experience of Alexandrina Cabral Barbosa is vital for achieving this title. Having won everything in Europe, she will provide valuable advice to lead her teammates. She has previously won the French championship with Fleury, as well as championships in Germany, Russia, Spain, and Romania. Avoiding a drop in rhythm and concentration in potential trap matches is essential, and this one falls into that category after two significant victories in the championship—beware of complacency.

With her duels and long-distance shots, Alexandrina should overcome the difficulties in Nora Fontaine's play. The 3-back position struggles to shift their balance on crosses, allowing proficient shooters to find themselves in good positions after crossing

movements. In addition to the Spanish left-back, we should also witness the young Russian right-back Maslova Valeria succeeding in long-distance shots as she is less hindered by the Strasbourg central defense. However, this defense should still limit the impact of Pauletta Foppa inside as they will be focused on containing her.

On one side, you have the worst defense in the league, and on the other, the best. Furthermore, the addition of Hawa N’Diaye, Brest's new defensive pivot, has strengthened the central axis of their defense. While the experienced Dalila Abdesselamet, Strasbourg's playmaker, might score a few tricky shots, it won't be enough to trouble Brest's defense. Movement and commitment are needed, elements currently lacking in the play of this Alsatian team.

So, no surprises expected, but likely another heavy defeat for Strasbourg by more than 12 goals. Meanwhile, Brest should secure an easy victory with more than 35 goals.