La Rioja and Meshkov chase remaining Last 16 berth

The fiercely competitive Group A of the VELUX EHF Champions League draws to a close this weekend and although three teams have already sealed their tickets to the knockout phase, there is still plenty to play for.

Spanish side Naturhouse La Rioja need at least a home draw against Paris Saint-Germain Handball to be mathematically sure of progressing, in case Meshkov spring a hardly fathomable upset and win in Kiel.

The Belarusian side can only advance if they beat the German champions and La Rioja lose, a very unlikely combination but one which may still keep the race wide open until the final whistle.   

VELUX EHF Champions League Group A

THW Kiel (GER) vs Meshkov Brest (BLR)
Thursday 19 February, 19:30 hrs local time live on ehfTV

Having secured the top spot in their section with eight successive wins after a surprising opening defeat in Zagreb, Kiel only have pride to play for when they entertain Meshkov in a game they should easily win.

But the triple former winners of Europe’s premier club competition are a club with such an illustrious history, they can ill-afford to put their reputation at stake and produce anything less than a 100% effort against a team battling to avoid an early exit.

Even a shock win will not be enough for Meshkov if Naturhouse La Rioja, who are a point ahead of them in the standings and also have the cushion of a superior head-to-head record (39:31 and 33:33), avoid defeat against already qualified PSG.

Meshkov’s fighting spirit, however, should ensure a good match in which the Belarusian side will need to pull something very special out of the hat to stun Kiel, whose left back Filip Jicha will look forward to another opportunity to rediscover his best form.

The Czech sharpshooter made an impressive comeback from a long injury layoff with a game-high nine goals in Sunday’s 35:16 rout of Macedonian rivals HC Metalurg, hence the game against Meshkov should come as an ideal chance for him to shine again.

Naturhouse La Rioja (ESP) vs Paris Saint-Germain Handball (FRA)
Saturday 21 February, 18:00 hrs local time live on ehfTV

Reeling after a quite incredible 31:30 defeat at Zagreb on Saturday, La Rioja will need to quickly pull their socks up, get off the ropes and fire on all cylinders against PSG if they are to vanquish any possibility of making an unexpected early exit.

Having led in the closing stages of the thriller in the Croatian capital, La Rioja conceded an equaliser before they were rocked by a last-gasp goal from almost the halfway line which left their fate hanging in the balance.

Should Meshkov expectably fail to produce a sensation in Kiel, even a defeat at the hands of PSG would not mean disaster for La Rioja, but the Spanish side simply cannot afford to bank on other results going their way.

Hence the home crowd will expect grim determination from their team in order to book the group’s last available knockout berth and this intriguing clash will show the level of La Rioja’s resolve when the chips are down.

PSG, in contrast, have sealed a runners-up finish and can head into the match devoid of any pressure, meaning that it will be a good opportunity for their entire roster to flex their muscles ahead of crunch games yet to come.

HC Metalurg (MKD) vs HC PPD Zagreb (CRO)
Sunday 22 February, 19:00 local time live on ehfTV

This is the only game in which result is competitively meaningless, but these two teams are rivals in the regional SEHA League as well and there is little doubt that neither of them wants to end the group phase with a defeat.

Plagued by financial problems which saw several key players leave Metalurg in the midst of the club’s battle to punch their weight in a tough group, the Macedonian outfit did as well as they could under the circumstances to collect three points in nine games.

A youthful Zagreb, steered by trophy-laden former Yugoslavia stalwart Veselin Vujovic, carved out a third-place finish and muscled their way into the Last 16 with five home wins out of five but the Croatian side’s poor away form is something the coaching staff will surely have addressed.

Therefore, Vujovic may see the visit to Skopje as an ideal opportunity for his team to end the losing road streak and boost their confidence ahead of the business end of the competition with precious little room for error.