The race is on again

The VELUX EHF Men's Champions League is back: For four weeks, national competitions and EHF EURO qualifiers were on the agenda of men’s handball in Europe, but now the top league will be the focus again – with Rounds 5 to 7 being staged over the next three weekends. Two new coaches were installed during the hiatus: Miro Požun replaces Zvonimir „Noka“ Serdarušić, who resigned from Celje, and Ljubomir Vranješ is the successor to Per Carlén, who was fired in Flensburg.

The next match day will include several top duels in the race for the Last 16, and it’s also the start of a double feature, as the same teams will meet again on the following weekend.

The first four rounds proved the equality within the competition: Nothing is decided yet, as only one team (Veszprém) has reached the maximum of eight points, and only one team (Presov) remains without points.

Group A

Vive Targi Kielce (POL) – FC Barcelona-Borges (ESP)
(Saturday, 15:00 hrs local time)

Both teams are under pressure in the "hammer group": Kielce still wait for their first victory and Barcelona have only won once this season, so this match is a highly decisive one. Kielce gained self-confidence from the draw against Rhein-Neckar Löwen on home soil, but Barcelona were deeply disappointed after losing in Chambery. "We need to take the points on home ground, and this match could be a real classic for our spectators," Kielce coach Bogdan Wenta said. Barca have only collected one point from away matches – the draw in Kiel.

Chambery Savoie HB (FRA) – RK Pivovarna Lasko Celje (SLO)
(Sunday, 17:00 hrs local time)

Surprisingly, the French runners-up are ahead of both Barcelona and Celje – and Chambery is highly focused on the two games against Celje, as they could open the gate to the Last 16 for them. The Slovenians, who won only one match (in Kielce) so far, want to show positive effects that the resignation of Noka Serdarušić had on the team. In the case of the national team, from where Serdarušić had earlier resigned, it worked well, as their two victories in the EHF EURO qualification showed. If Chambery take the victory, the gap between the two teams would be four points.

THW Kiel (GER) – Rhein Neckar Löwen (GER)
(Sunday, 17:15 hrs local time)

The only duel of two teams from the same nation in the whole Group Phase of the VELUX EHF Champions League will be a classic as it is a reprise of the knock-out stages of the last two years: in 2008/2009 both teams met in the semi-finals, in 2009/2010 it was the Quarterfinals – and in both cases Kiel were the winners. This year, both teams have severe injury problems: Guðjón Valur Sigurðsson, Ivan Čupić and Henning Fritz will be missing from the Löwen team, while Kiel have to replace three important back-court players, including both of their left-handed players Christian Zeitz and Kim Andersson, besides Daniel Narcisse, who has been out for months. Two more parallels: both teams are still unbeaten in the CL, having seven points each, and both lost their last Bundesliga match against another German participant of the VELUX EHF Men’s Champions League by a one-goal margin: Kiel in Hamburg, and Löwen to Flensburg.

Group B

HSV Hamburg (GER) – Tatran Presov (SVK)
(Saturday, 15:00 hrs local time)

The roles for this match are clear: HSV are the favourites as the Schwalb team gained much confidence by beating Kiel, for the first time ever, on home ground in the Bundesliga on Tuesday (26:25). Presov still await their first point, and the task in Hamburg looks to be terribly difficult. The Germans have just extended the contracts of Bitter, Vori and Lindberg and hope to take four points from the duels against the Slovaks.

HSV has a balanced account after losing in Veszprém and Kolding.

KIF Kolding (DEN) – Montpellier HB (FRA)
(Saturday, 16:15 hrs local time)

The top match of this group will bring together the two ‘chasers’ of top-ranked team Veszprém. Kolding are the big surprise with six points on their account, while the French champions are a little disappointed after suffering defeats in Veszprém and against Hamburg. But as top star Nikola Karabatić is set to make his international comeback, the hopes are high of overtaking Kolding, at least after the return match. Besides this, the game will see the duel of two of the best left wing players of the world: Michaël Guigou and Lars Christiansen.

The VELUX EHF Men's Champions League top game of Group B, KIF Kolding (DEN) vs. Montpellier Agglomeration HB (FRA) on Saturday 20 November 2010 at 16:15 hrs (local time), will be broadcast live on our free-of-charge web stream on ehfTV.com.

IK Sävehof (SWE) - MKB Veszprém (HUN)
(Sunday, 15:15 hrs local time)

With two victories in the upcoming matches against Sävehof, Veszprém would already qualify for the Last 16 – and the Hungarians are the clear favourites, even in Sweden. Sävehof took their only points by beating Presov, as Veszprém are clearly the dominant team in this group after securing four victories.

Group C

Chekhovskie Medvedi (RUS) – Pick Szeged (HUN)
(Thursday, 19:00 hrs local time)

The opener of Round 5 will take place in Chekhov, and the Russians can take a great step towards the next stage by beating the newly-formed team from Szeged. Especially on home ground, Chekhov (unbeaten leader with seven points) seem very dominant in this group, while Szeged secured all of their four points on home soil.

AaB Handball (DEN) – Cuattro Rayas Valadolid (ESP)
(Sunday, 15:50 hrs local time)

Like Chekhov, like Valladolid: both leading teams can bring an early decision in this group.

As with Chekhov on home ground, the Spanish team is the favourite in Aalborg. Even so, the Danes have shown their strength by beating Minsk before the break– and have high hopes of more successes.

Group D

HCM Constanta (ROU) – HC St. Petersburg (RUS)
(Thursday, 19:30 hrs local time)

As Ciudad Real, Flensburg and Zagreb have already distanced themselves from the rest, this match in Romania is a crucial one for reaching fourth place. As both teams currently have only one victory on their account, winning both of these games could be crucial for reaching the Last 16. On home ground, Constanta seem to be the favourite, but St. Petersburg showed over 45 minutes in Flensburg what they are capable of, even in an away match.

The VELUX EHF Men's Champions League game of Group D, HCM Constanta (ROU) vs. St. Petersburg HC (RUS) on Thursday, 18 November 2010 at 19:30 hrs (local time), will be broadcast live on our free-of-charge web stream on ehfTV.com.

Bosna Sarajevo (BIH) – Renovalia Ciudad Real (ESP)
(Saturday, 19:00 hrs local time)

This will be the second consecutive match for the Spaniards in former Yugoslavia: after the draw in Zagreb, Ciudad Real are rather wary, but still the favourite. With seven points already, the Dujshebaev team can take a great step forward before the more decisive matches against Zagreb and in Flensburg. But Bosna are highly motivated, as they drew against Zagreb on home soil before - and they haven’t given up their hopes of overtaking Constanta and St. Petersburg in the upcoming six rounds.

SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) – RK Croatia Osiguranje Zagreb (CRO)
(Sunday, 15:30 hrs local time)

What effect will new coach Ljubomir Vranješ (Swedish with Balkan roots) have on the international scene? In his first ever match as successor of Per Carlén his team surprisingly beat Rhein Neckar Löwen. Flensburg and Zagreb have met so many times before in the VELUX EHF Champions League – and all of those matches featured really tough battles with very close results. In the current season, both teams are equal on points (6), as Flensburg lost at Ciudad Real, and Zagreb tied against the Spaniards and in Sarajevo. So those two direct duels in the space of one week will give a hint of which team will have the better position at the end – as the Last 16 is very close for both.

The VELUX EHF Men's Champions League Group D game SG Flensburg-Handewitt VS (GER) VS. HC Croatia Osiguranje ZAGREB (CRO) on Sunday 21 November 2010 at 15:30 hrs (local time) is our „Match of the Week" and will be broadcasted live on our free of charge web stream on ehfTV.com, including English commentary by Tom O'Brannagain.