Esbjerg and Viborg hope to impress again

In Round 2 of the Women's EHF Cup Group Phase, the focus will be on Denmark, where three matches are to be played. Meanwhile Danish side Team Esbjerg will compete in a Nordic clash in Stavanger.

In total, eight matches are scheduled for the upcoming weekend, and six of them will be streamed live on ehfTV.com.

GROUP A

Storhamar Handball Elite (NOR) vs Team Esbjerg (DEN)
Sunday 13 January, 15:00 local time, live on ehfTV.com

• Storhamar started the group phase with a defeat at Bietigheim
• Betina Riegelhuth, who scored eight goals in that game, will now face Esbjerg, where she played in 2015/16
• Esbjerg claimed their biggest ever victory in European club competitions, 41:18 against Magura Cisnadie
• On Wednesday, Esbjerg had another great game, beating fellow EHF Cup team Viborg 32:22 in the Danish league

Sports Club Magura Cisnadie (ROU) vs SG BBM Bietigheim (GER)
Sunday 13 January, 17:30 local time

• Magura Cisnadie will try to recover from a devastating loss at Esbjerg
• The Romanian team is currently third-placed in their domestic league
• Bietigheim are second in the German league, behind Thuringer
• On Wednesday, Bietigheim won a German Cup quarter-final against Buxtehuder (24:22)

GROUP B

TusSies Metzingen (GER) vs Siófok KC Hungary (HUN)
Saturday 12 January, 20:00 local time, live on ehfTV.com

• Both teams started the group phase with victories
• For Metzingen, it was the seventh straight win in the EHF Cup since qualification round 1
• Similar to Bietigheim, Metzingen won a German Cup quarter-final on Wednesday, beating Neckarsulm 25:19
• Siófok's Andrea Kobetic is the top scorer of the Women's EHF Cup Group Phase with 11 goals

Herning-Ikast Handbold (DEN) vs IK Sävehof (SWE)
Sunday 13 January, 16:30 local time

• Both Scandinavian sides suffered defeats in the opening round
• For Sävehof, it was the seventh straight loss in European club competitions this season
• Six previous defeats took place in the Women's EHF Champions League, including two against another Danish team, Kobenhavn
• Herning-Ikast lost a Danish league game against top-placed Odense 23:31 on Wednesday

GROUP C

Viborg HK (DEN) vs E.S Besancon Feminin (FRA)
Saturday 12 January, 16:00 local time, live on ehfTV.com

• Viborg grabbed two points at Larvik
• It was their seventh win in as many games of the EHF Cup, starting from qualification round 1
• In contrast, Viborg are only eighth-placed in Danish league
• Besancon won a French league derby against Dijon on Wednesday (31:30)

Kuban (RUS) vs Larvik HK (NOR)
Sunday 13 January, 16:00 local time, live on ehfTV.com

• Kuban enjoyed a good start in the group phase, winning at Besancon
• Diana Golub was the Russian team's best scorer with eight goals
• Kuban have an all-Russian squad; Larvik have an almost entirely Norwegian roster except for two Swedes
• Larvik lost to Fana (20:19) in a Norwegian league game on Wednesday

GROUP D

Super Amara Bera Bera (ESP) vs SCM Craiova (ROU)
Saturday 12 January, 18:00 local time, live on ehfTV.com

• Bera Bera lost at Podravka in Round 1
• Title holders Craiova won at home against Nykobing
• The Romanian side conceded only 12 goals in that game
• Craiova have won all three EHF Cup games this season, including in qualification round 3, but never scored more than 19 goals

Nykøbing Falster Håndbold - NFH (DEN) vs HC Podravka Vegeta (CRO)
Sunday 13 January, 18:00 local time

• Nykøbing had a poor start to the competition, losing at Craiova
• 12 goals was by far NFH’s lowest scoring record in European club competitions
• In contrast, Podravka scored 32 goals, the second-best result in Round 1 behind Esbjerg
• Podravka's win against Bera Bera ended their three-game losing run from the Women's EHF Champions League