Rostov and CSM hope for redemption at home

The opening matches of the DELO WOMEN'S EHF Champions League main round were not successful for heavyweights Rostov-Don and CSM Bucuresti, who lost away games against Metz Handball and FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria, respectively.

Now both sides will play at home – Rostov against Vipers Kristiansand, and CSM against Metz – and hope for better.

At the same time, Team Esbjerg and FTC, who started the main round with victories, will clash in another exciting encounter in Denmark. 

Rostov-Don (RUS) vs Vipers Kristiansand (NOR)
Saturday 1 February, 14:00 CET, live on ehftv.com

• the two sides have never faced each other in European club competitions

• both teams opened the main rounds with defeats, as Rostov lost 23:20 at Metz, while Vipers suffered a home defeat against Esbjerg, 31:35

• they are level on the table, with five points apiece

• Anna Vyakhireva, who missed the game in Metz due to an illness, also did not play the Russian league match against Kuban on Wednesday, which Rostov won 34:20

CSM Bucuresti (ROU) vs Metz Handball (FRA)
Sunday 2 February, 14:30 CET, live on ehftv.com

• last Saturday, CSM suffered their biggest ever defeat in the continental top flight, losing 33:23 at FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria

• CSM are on a three-game losing run in the competition, and they are last-placed in the group, with three points

• in contrast, Metz top the group with eight points and are still unbeaten in the competition

• the teams’ paths crossed in the quarter-finals of the two previous DELO WOMEN’S EHF Champions League seasons – CSM were stronger in 2018 while Metz took revenge in 2019

Team Esbjerg (DEN) vs FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) 
Sunday 2 February, 16:50 CET, live on ehftv.com

• Esbjerg and FTC have never met in European club competitions

• both started the main round with victories

• Esbjerg are now second-placed in the group with six points, while FTC are fifth with three 

• FTC’s Katrin Klujber is the competition’s second top scorer, with 47 goals