GROUP A/B PREVIEW: Buducnost, Metz, Rostov and Kobenhavn want to add a second straight victory as the Women’s EHF Champions League goes into Round 2 this weekend
Four teams strive to stay flawless
A rematch of the 2015 final between Larvik and Buducnost is one of the highlights of Round 2 of the Women’s EHF Champions League Group Matches this weekend.
Buducnost, which beat Larvik three years ago to lift the trophy, started the new season in Group A with a win last week, and the Montenegrin outfit will visit Norway on Saturday.
Metz also make a trip to Northern Europe as the French side face Danish debutants Odense on Sunday.
In two Group B matches on Saturday, Rostov try to maintain their perfect record against Brest, while Sävehof host Kobenhavn in a Scandinavian derby.
GROUP A
Larvik HK (NOR) vs Buducnost (MNE)
Saturday, 13 October, 18.15 hrs local time, live on ehfTV.com
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Both teams have met 15 times before, most notably in the 2015 final which Buducnost won 26:22
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Their head-to-head statistics are in the balance: seven wins each and one draw
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Buducnost fly to Norway looking back on a 31:28 opening win against Odense
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Larvik was routed 33:19 in the Norwegian league by fellow Champions League contenders Vipers Kristiansand on Wednesday
Odense HC (DEN) vs Metz Handball (FRA)
Sunday, 14 October, 15.10 hrs local time, live in ehfTV.com
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The match is Odense’s first ever home game in the Champions League
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“Metz are playing a different kind of handball than Buducnost, but they are just as good,” says Odense coach Jan Pytlick
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Metz clearly defeated Larvik (32:20) in their opening match, while Odense lost 31:28 away to Buducnost
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Both teams earned an eighth straight victory in their respective domestic leagues this week: Metz against Nice (31:21), Odense against Silkeborg Voel (36:20)
GROUP B
Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA) vs Rostov-Don (RUS)
Saturday, 13 October, 15:00 hrs local time, live on ehfTV.com
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Brest opened with defeat at Kobenhavn last week, but have Ana Gros and Sladana Pop-Lazic as joint top scorers of the competition with nine goals
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Russian champions Rostov are top of the group after comfortably beating Sävehof
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Rostov won all four previous matches against Brest: in the quarter-final of 2016/17 and in the group matches of 2017/18
IK Sävehof (SWE) vs Kobenhavn Handball (DEN)
Saturday, 13 October, 15:30 hrs local time, live on ehfTV.com
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The two Scandinavian teams have not played each other before in a European Cup competition
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Sävehof sit bottom of the group after losing at Rostov; Kobenhavn enjoyed a good start by beating Brest
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Kobenhavn’s Johanna Bundsen, Linn Blohm and Jenny Alm will play against their former club, while Sävehof’s Christina Elm played for Kobenhavn in the past
TEXT:
Peter Bruun, Sergey Nikolaev / ew