Top match in Skjern, while Schaffhausen chase first win

Having earned their first point last weekend, Kadetten Schaffhausen will be chasing their first win in Group D of the VELUX EHF Champions League, when they host HC Motor Zaporozhye Thursday evening.

Skjern Handbold will be seeking revenge for their defeat to Motor, when they host HC Metalurg, before Elverum and Baia Mare conclude Round 4 with their head-to-head in Norway.

GROUP D

Kadetten Schaffhausen (SUI) vs HC Motor Zaporozhye (UKR)
Thursday 8 October 20:00 local time, live on ehfTV

In their third attempt, Kadetten got their first point of their current VELUX EHF Champions League campaign, drawing 31:31 in Romania against Baia Mare.

And in this next encounter they will be chasing their first win, when they take on Motor Zaporozhye in the BBC Arena of Schaffhausen.

However, the task may be tough for the Swiss champions.

Motor became the first team in the group to defeat Danish Skjern Handbold, and the 31:26 win at home will have given the Ukrainian champions renewed self-confidence before the trip to Switzerland.

Kadetten coach Markus Baur can welcome centre back Sergio Muggli and right back Aleksandar Stojanovic back from injury while there is still doubt about right wing Markus Richwien who has just recovered from concussion.

Skjern Handbold (DEN) vs HC Metalurg (MKD)
Sunday 11 October 15:10 local time, live on ehfTV

Skjern suffered their first Champions League defeat of the season in the last round, as they lost 31:26 away to Motor Zaporozhye.

That defeat has made a home win in the top game against Metalurg this coming Sunday even more crucial for the Danish team, but they will be up against a Macedonian team who have racked up two wins in succession – at home against Schaffhausen and Elverum.

However, Skjern’s right back Kasper Sondergaard is in no doubt that his team will get the win they need.

“That is simply a team we have to beat and a match we have to win.

“We simply have to win all our home matches from now on, and then hope for a couple of further points on away courts.

“If we can achieve that, I am sure we can still reach one of the two top spots which will send us on to the knock-out matches of the tournament,” commented Sondergaard.

Elverum Handball Herrer (NOR) vs HCM Baia Mare (ROU)
Sunday 11 October 16:15 local time, live on ehfTV

Despite leading for large parts of the match, Elverum lost 22:19 away against Metalurg on Saturday while Baia Mare drew 31:31 at home against Schaffhausen – a result which was a disappointment to the Romanian champions as the draw was Schaffhausen’s first point in the tournament.

“In spite of our defeat in Skopje, we gained self-confidence from that match, and we are in better form now, than we were in our latest home game against Skjern (which Elverum lost 37:23)

“We definitely did not present ourselves well in that match, so we are looking forward to doing much better on Sunday, but of course the match against Baia Mare will still be a very difficult game for us,” Elverum coach Mikael Apelgren tells ehfCL.com.

According to Baia Mare coach Lars Walther, pace will be the key word in Terningen Arena Sunday afternoon.

“Like last time against Kadetten, we will face a team which is very good on the break.
 
“So we have to be much better in organising our defense. If we don't do that, it will be a very difficult game in Elverum.

“Elverum play some nice fast handball, so we will have to reach our peaks to take points there.

“We believe in ourselves, though, so we go there with confidence and believe we can win.

“We are also looking forward to meeting Steffen Stegavik one of our players from last season,” Lars Walther says.