ROUND PREVIEW: Qualification round 3 of the EHF European Cup Women will open with six matches this weekend, including two double headers as well as two national derbies
Qualification round 3 of the EHF European Cup Women, the third-tier European club competition, will throw off with six matches this weekend.
Two ties will be played as double headers, and two first-leg matches are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
- HZRK Grude (BIH) and ORK Rudar (MNE) will face each other on Friday and Saturday, with both games to be played in Podgorica
- another double header features Muratpasa Belediyesi SK (TUR) and KHF Ferizaj (KOS), who will meet on Saturday and Sunday in Antalya
- seven more ties will be played as double headers next weekend, from 20 to 22 November
- the tie between ZORK Jagodina and ZRK Bjelovar will be decided in one game in Bjelovar on 21 November
- three ties will not take place due to the Covid-19 restrictions, so Club Balonman Atletico Guardes, ZRK Naisa Nis and Jomi Salerno are proceeding to the Last 16, scheduled for 9 and 16 January 2021
National derbies in Spain and Turkey
Qualification round 3 features two national derbies, which will both start this weekend with the first leg matches.
Two Spanish side are going to clash on Saturday, as Club Balonmano Elche will host KH-7 BM. Granollers. While Elche automatically qualified for this round, Granollers had to overcome a Portuguese hurdle in round 2 as they comfortably defeated Alavarium Love Tiles twice.
And Sunday will see a match between two Turkish outfits, Yalikavaksports Club and Izmir BSB SK. For both sides, it will be the first game in the current competition as they did not participate in round 2.
TEXT:
EHF / Sergey Nikolaev