For the second season in a row, SG BBM Bietigheim have been the surprise package at the start of the EHF Champions League Women, delivering five wins in five matches, before their painful loss in the last round against Odense, 29:41.

But the German champions might have learnt a thing or two after the previous season, when they also started at full throttle, with a five-game unbeaten streak, before losing their sixth game - also against Odense - and dropped their level until they were eliminated prematurely.