Champions on the road as Balkan derby takes centre stage

Six winners of the EHF Champions League face contrasting away games as the Group Matches reaches the halfway mark, with holders Györ visiting Germany’s Thüringer HC in what could be an intriguing clash.

Hypo, the quadruple former champions, should have a somewhat easier task at newcommers Baia Mare while Larvik will be strong favourites to beat Spain’s Balonmano Bera Bera.

Krim will in all likelihood have to be at their best if they are to come away with a good result at Metz handball while Podravka Vegeta, whose overhauled outfit is still an unknown quantity this term, face a stern test of their credentials in a regional derby at Vardar Skopje.

Finally, 2012 winners Buducnost Podgorica will have an equally daunting task at Midtjylland, who have reinvigorated Denmark’s hopes of rekindling past glory with two wins out of two in the opening rounds.

Group A

HCM Baia Mare (ROU) vs Hypo Niederöstereich (AUT)
Saturday 19 October at 17:00 hrs local time, live on ehfTV
In Baia Mare, Maramures

Still winless after two group stage rounds in Europe’s premier club competition, top level debutants Baia Mare will be hoping to chalk up their first points of the campaign when they entertain the winners of four Champions League titles.

Hypo will be buoyed by last weekend’s impressive home win against Thüringer HC in which right wing Alexandra Do Nascimento stood out with a game-high nine goals.

Winning in Romania could be a vital step for the Austrian giants in their bid to reach the Main Round from a tough group, where holders Györ are the absolute favourites to advance into the last eight.

Thüringer HC (GER) vs Györi Audi ETO (HUN)
Sunday 20 October 16:00 hrs local time, live on ehfTV
In Nordhausen

Handball fans in Nordhausen will relish the prospect of watching Europe’s most heralded team in action and there is no doubt that the home crowd will create a trademark atmosphere hoping that Györ can somehow slip-up.

A collapse in the last 15 minutes against Hypo will be the worrying aspect for Thüringer, who will need more than the clinical finishing of Alexandrina Cabral Barbosa and Sonja Frey to have any chance of upsetting the reigning champions.

The Hungarian side seem to be cruising through the group in third gear, the impressive depth of their squad showing in both opening fixtures as a myriad of scorers left Hypo and then Baia Mare with no hope of springing a surprise.

Group B

FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) vs MKS Lublin (POL)
Sunday 20 October 14:00 hrs local time, live on ehfTV
In Dabas

Buoyed by their important home win over Buducnost which put them back in contention for a Main Round berth, Ferencvaros should have a fairly straightforward task against the Polish champions.

Lublin were overran in their opening game at Podgorica but showed a fair bit of resilience in their home fixture against Midtjylland.

FTC will be encouraged with the excellent form of their left back Zsuzsanna Tomori, who scored seven goals against Buducnost, winger Monica Kovacsicz who added six and five-goal Szandra Zacsik, as the trio seems to have hit top gear just in time to get their team on the rails.
 
FC Midtjylland (DEN) vs Buducnost Podgorica (MNE)
Sunday 20 October 15:15 hrs local time, live on ehfTV
In Ikast

A pivotal fixture for both teams, especially for 2012 winners Buducnost after their narrow defeat at FTC left them with little or no margin for error in their remaining Group Matches.

Midtjylland, on the other hand, maintained their perfect start with a hard-fought win at Lublin after routing FTC in the opening game and another victory would put them in a commanding position to reach the last eight. However, for the next six or seven months the Danish champions will miss Laerke Möller who just had a surgery on her knee cap.

Buducnost coach Dragan Adzic will certainly expect a better defensive performance from his side after costly errors which resulted in a narrow defeat at FTC, while the powerful backcourt trio of Cristina Neagu, Camilla Dalby and Milena Knezevic are expected to deliver up front.

Group C

HC Leipzig (GER) vs IK Sävehof (SWE)
Saturday 19 October 16:00 hrs local time, live on ehfTV
In Leipzig

A crucial fixture for both teams as Leipzig look to recover from a home defeat by group favourites Krim, while Sävehof seek to continue their good form after grinding out a precious home win against Metz.

With Krim in pole position on a maximum four points and Metz bottom after losing both their opening games, the doubleheader between Leipzig and the Swedish title holders could well determine which of these two teams joins the Slovenian giants in the last eight.

Ida Oden, who hit 11 goals for Sävehof against their French rivals, will hope to carry her fantastic form into the match against the Leipzig outfit, where Susann Müller and Karolina Kudlacz stood out with a combined total of 12 goals against Krim. The German qualifiers will be short of two players for a long term as both the line player Anne Müller and the right back Anne Hubinger suffered injuries in the last bundesliga match against Buxtehude.

Metz Handball (FRA) vs RK Krim Mercator (SLO)
Sunday 20 October 19:00 hrs local time, live on ehfTV
In Metz

Metz have only a slim chance of upsetting Krim after the former European champions made a perfect start to their campaign.

Boasting a production line of international stars, Krim proved shone in their opening two wins against Sävehof and Leipzig, with Serbian wing Katarina Krpez emerging as a welcome attacking bonus in addition to the standard firepower provided by Croatia left back Andrea Penezic and Slovenian prodigy Barbara Lazovic-Varlec.

Metz showed the ability to come back in the face of adversity in both their opening two games, suffering narrow defeats to Leipzig and Sävehof, but they would have to perform on top of their limits or even beyond them to avoid a third successive loss.

Group D

WHC Vardar SCBT (MKD) vs HC Podravka Vegeta (CRO)
Saturday, 19 October 20:00 hrs local time, live on ehfTV
In Skopje

The Balkan derby, featuring an emerging force and a long-standing powerhouse from the former Yugoslavia, is surely one of the most appealing fixtures of the weekend as an expensively assembled Vardar side takes on revamped Podravka Vegeta.

The Macedonian project, boosted by the close-season arrival of some of the game’s most recognised stars, showed in no uncertain terms they are fast becoming a force to be reckoned with in a creditable 27:27 draw against former winners Larvik, having come agonisingly close to beating last season’s finalists.

Vardar seem to have gelled into an efficient unit quicker than most pundits might have anticipated and therefore should have the edge on home court against Podravka, whose confidence will have been restored with a comfortable home win against Balonmano Bera Bera after a crushing opening defeat at Larvik.  

Balonmano Bera Bera (ESP) vs Larvik (NOR)
Sunday, 20 October 12:15 hrs local time, live on ehfTV
In Donostia – San Sebastian

This is a David versus Goliath clash in every aspect. There is no doubt that the Spanish outfit from the country’s Basque region will keep their spirits high although they were soundly beaten in their opening two games, but in Larvik they face a mountain to climb.

The former Champions League winners from Norway scraped a point at Vardar last weekend but in doing so they showed the grit akin only to top sides who have the ability to grind out results when the going gets tough.

Linn-Kristin Koren Riegelhuth, the competition’s joint top scorer with 17 goals after two rounds, is likely to be the main threat to the hosts as Larvik seek to trace their path towards the Main Round.