Derbies in the spotlight as double headers begin

Three weekends long the VELUX EHF Champions League gave way to national team weeks and the domestic leagues, now the flagship competition in European club handball takes centre stage again on Thursday 14 November.

Round 5 means the half-way mark of the Group Phase will have been reached and begins three straight weekends of top flight handball before the winter break.

All 12 matches will be the first of double headers and two derbies are clearly in focus: Vardar and Metalurg play for the “crown” of the Macedonian capital, while Flensburg and Hamburg face not only for local pride, but first place Group D.

Before Round 5, only three teams have a perfect record: Veszprem (Group A), Kielce (Group B) and defending champions Hamburg (Group D), Barcelona are the still the unbeaten leader of Group C, but dropped one point in their opener at Vardar.

Barca’s sniper Siarhei Rutenka will have two special matches ahead, as he, for the second season in a row, will face his brother Dziannis, playing for their upcoming opponent Dinamo Minsk.

On the opposite end of the tables, St. Petersburg, Dunkerque and Thun harbour hopes of gaining their first points in the group phase after four straight defeats, but all three face stiff competition in the coming rounds.

Group A:
Rhein-Neckar Löwen (GER) vs. HC Croatia Osiguranje Zagreb (CRO)
Thursday, 20:30 hrs. local time in St. Leon-Rot

In all four previous duels Rhein Neckar Löwen are unbeaten, but never won at home against RK Zagreb, as the statistic says one away victory and three draws.

After two straight wins in the wake of a rather successful start Löwen are highly motivated to end the home curse against the Croats, but they are aware of the young guns from Zagreb, who are only one point below in the ranking.

HC Motor Zaporozhye (UKR) vs. St. Petersburg HC (RUS)
Sunday, 19:00 hrs. local time in Kharkov

Russian will be the language on court in Kharkov. After two straight defeats including the unexpected one on home court against Celje, the Ukrainian champions are supposed to be favourites to catch-up to the top three in Group A.

Some of the Motor players like Kamanin, Skopintsev or Aflitulin know the opponent well, as they faced St. Petersburg in the Russian league before, playing for Chekhovskie Medvedi. Particularly in the away match of this double header, St. Petersburg are the underdogs.

Celje Pivovarna Lasko (SLO) vs. MKB-MVM Veszprém (HUN)
Sunday, 20:00 hrs. local time

These sides have crossed paths many times in the past, as both play 19^th season in the EHF Champions League. In this long rivalry their fortunes have gone different ways in the last few years, with Veszprém becoming a main contender for the VELUX EHF FINAL4.

The matches against the “brewers” will be a sort of homecoming for Veszprém’s goalkeeper Mirko Alilovic, who was part of the Celje squad some years ago. Veszprém’s Serbian newcomer Momir Ilic knows how to play in Slovenia, as before arriving in Germany (Gummersbach and Kiel) he was with Velenje. It is the clearly stated hope of the host to cause another major surprise like last season against Kiel – but even 100% effort might not be enough to snatch the first points of this season away from the Hungarians, who are already four points ahead of the Slovenian runners-up.

Group B:
FC Porto Vitalis (POR) vs. Orlen Wisla Plock (POL)
Saturday, 19:30 hrs. local time

This is a crucial duel mainly for Wisla Plock. After three close defeats against Kielce, Kiel and Kolding, the Polish runners-up will feel the heat if they lose at the Portuguese champions, who are level on two points.

Interestingly enough Plock took their only victory away (at Dunkerque), while Porto’s only win was on home ground against the same opponent.

KIF Kolding Kobenhavn (DEN) vs. KS Vive Targi Kielce (POL)
Sunday, 17:00 hrs. local time in Brondby

Will the Brondby Arena be the first stumbling block for group leader Kielce? After beating Kiel on home ground in a clear and dominant way, the Polish champions arrive at Denmark full of confidence.

In this duel of two of the most experienced teams in the full competition an exciting game is expected, with the Danes being a force to be reckoned with in home matches and KIF are, alongside Kiel, only two points below Kielce.

Dunkerque HB Grand Littoral (FRA) vs. THW Kiel (GER)
Sunday, 18:45 hrs. local time

Another attempt to gain their first points – but the roles are clearly marked for the debutant from France against the three-time champions from Germany, who top the Bundesliga table.

Kiel have recovered on domestic ground from their defeat at Kielce, but are hit by some injury problems. Despite those missing players, the Germans are clear favourites at Dunkerque.

Group C:
HC Dinamo Minsk (BLR) vs. FC Barcelona (ESP)
Thursday, 19:00 hrs. local time

Siarhei against Dziannis, the top favourite for the competition title against a team in an upswing – those are the claims for the upcoming duel of the Rutenka brothers.

Last season Minsk were close to victory at Barcelona, but finally were beaten by a one goal margin and lost at home against Barca.

However, the Catalans should be aware of the home strength of the Belarusian champions: Minsk beat Vardar, who managed a draw against Barca.

HC Metalurg (MKD) vs. HC Vardar – Skopje (MKD)
Thursday, 20:00 hrs. local time

For the first time in 21 years of EHF Champions League competition, two teams from the same city face in this competition. First Metalurg is the host in the Boris Trajkovski arena, next week the team of Lino Cervar will enter the same arena from the guest’s dressing room.

It is hard to define a favourite for this all-Macedonian clash, both played brilliant handball at home – Vardar took draws against Barca and Paris, while Metalurg beat Paris – so it will be interesting to see which team feels more at home on Thursday. Their first duel in this season in the SEHA Liga ended in a tie.

Wacker Thun (SUI) vs. PSG Handball (FRA)
Sunday, 17:00 hrs. local time in Bern

Can PSG put an end to their indifferent start to the campaign? After four matches the French champions only have won victory on their account and rank below both Macedonian teams and below Minsk. Maybe the away match at Bern against Swiss debutants from Thun can bring an end to this series.

Thun were taught several lessons so far and against PSG they are anything but the favourite despite the home advantage.

Group D:
HSV Hamburg (GER) vs. SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER)
Saturday, 14:45 hrs. local time

On Sunday Flensburg beat HSV at home in the Bundesliga by 31:29, on Saturday the defending champions are eager to take revenge to remain with a clear record in international competition.

For HSV it is already the third match against a German team after successfully facing Füchse Berlin in wild card qualification. Last season both teams won their home matches against each other in the group phase, then both clashed in the quarter-finals again, this time with two away victories and Hamburg clinching their berth for the VELUX EHF FINAL4.

Naturhouse La Rioja (ESP) vs. RK Gorenje Velenje (SLO)
Saturday, 19:00 hrs. local time in Logrono

Has the time come for the first ever victory in the VELUX EHF Champions League in the history of debutant La Rioja? After two draws, including the sensational point against Flensburg, the Spaniards hope to go one step further against Velenje.

Both teams are level on two points and the Slovenian champions conceded three straight defeats after their opening victory against Halmstad. On home ground in Logrono, La Rioja are boosted by their fans, so the first victory does not seem to be out of reach.

HK DROTT Halmstad (SWE) vs. Aalborg Handball (DEN)
Sunday, 15:00 hrs. local time

This Scandinavian duel will be a very local affair with only players from Scandinavian countries on court, the an all-Swedish Halmstad team and Aalborg counting only players from Denmark, Sweden and Norway.  

Aalborg showed some brave and strong performances against Hamburg, Flensburg and La Rioja and have four points on their account, while Halmstad (like La Rioja) still wait for their first victory.

In this neighbourhood double header the Swedes have a good chance to win in the first encounter at home, but thanks to their more experienced squad, Aalborg are the favourites.