Barcelona, Flensburg top groups ahead of winter break

Since Sunday night this year’s VELUX EHF Champions League campaign has come to an end, as Flensburg-Handewitt’s 34:26 away win against Besiktas was the competition’s last match in 2015.

For eight teams, those who missed the play-off matches in Groups C and D, the international journey is already over. Four teams, Zaporozhye, Skjern, La Rioja and Brest, will have at least two more matches to play as they face off in the play-offs for the Last 16.

The 16 teams of Groups A and B still have four rounds ahead of them in February and March.

In the new playing system the teams that finish on top of Groups A and B skip the Last 16 and will directly proceed to the quarter-finals, while those teams ranked second to sixth will play their Last 16 matches in March.

No draw but just the final ranking will decide the pairings for the next two knockout stages hence any team that knows its position at the end of the group phase knows its opponents.

The current situation:

Groups A and B:

Eight teams (four each in Groups A and B) have already clinched their berth for the knockout stage: Flensburg, PSG, Veszprem and Kiel in Group A, Barcelona, Kielce, Flensburg and Szeged in Group B; Vardar’s chances to miss the Last 16, also in Group B,  are also very theoretical.

With only a few points separating the teams in both groups, the decision about the group winners is likely to be made at the very end. In Group A Flensburg and Paris are on 16 points, trailed by Veszprem on 15.

In Group B Barcelona have 15, Kielce 14 and Rhein-Neckar Löwen and Szeged 13 points each.

Regarding the remaining open spots for the knockout stage the wheat seems to be separated from the chaff: In Group A Besiktas and Celje only have mathematical chances to proceed, the same holds true for KIF Kolding Kobenhavn in Group B.

The opportunities of Kristianstad are quite limited as they are three points behind Montpellier and have lost the direct encounter against the French team.

Groups C and D:

The tenth round turned into a pure thriller even though three of four participants for the play-offs had already been confirmed.

Even a 22-goal win against Vojvodina was not enough for Porto to snatch the final ticket, as La Rioja won at Presov. The direct encounter decided this duel and as both teams had won their respective home matches, the better goal difference eventually decided in favour of the Spaniards in Group C.

In Group D Skjern and Zaporozhye had clinched their berth for the next stage already before but the direct duel needed to decide the final ranking. The draw (36:36) was enough for the Ukrainian champions to remain on top.

The remaining matches:

Groups A and B:

In Group A Flensburg have their fate in their hands as the 2014 winners still face Veszprem and Kiel (both at home) as well as PSG (away). While three wins would probably guarantee the straight ticket for the quarter-finals, three defeats could mean for Flensburg to sink down to the fifth position.

PSG have two high hurdles at Zagreb and Plock ahead of them, while Veszprem and Kiel have a slightly easier schedule in February and March.

In Group B Rhein-Neckar Löwen face Barcelona and Kielce away games and will host Vardar – everything from position 1 to 5 is possible. Barcelona – except for the Löwen game – have a quite easy schedule ahead, nearly the same holds true for Kielce.

Groups C and D:

Meshkov Brest vs Skjern Handball and Motor Zaporozhye vs Naturhouse La Rioja are the pairings for the knockout matches. The aggregate winners proceed to the Last16 and will face a second ranked team from Groups A and B.