The European club handball off-season comes to an end this weekend as the EHF Champions League Women returns to action for round 1 of its 2026/27 group phase. Metz Handball start the new campaign as the defending champions when 16 teams embark on the long Road to Budapest — with different ambitions, but all with the same ultimate goal: Raising the trophy in the MVM Dome.

Which club has the strongest chance of taking that trophy? Journalist Danijela Vekić digs into the question of which teams appear in the most promising position as the season begins.