Györ eye first place in top clash against Buducnost

The business end of the main round of the DELO WOMEN’S EHF Champions League is upon us and all three games this weekend can prove crucial for the teams involved.

Györi Audi ETO KC aim to extend their 35-game unbeaten run with a win against Buducnost, which would see the title holders secure first place in the group following their victory against Brest Bretagne Handball last week.

While Györ, Brest and Buducnost are all through to the next phase of the competition, there is still one quarter-final place left – and SCM Ramnicu Valcea can book it with a win against Sävehof.

GROUP 2
SCM Ramnicu Valcea (ROU) vs IK Sävehof (SWE)
Saturday 29 February, 14:00 CET, live on ehfTV.com

• Valcea can earn safe passage to the quarter-finals with a win against Sävehof, while the Swedish side are eliminated if they fail to win

• Sävehof earned only one win in the last 10 away games, 28:26, against Krim in the group phase

• Valcea have the second most effective defence in the main round, with 197 conceded goals – only one more than Györ

• the two teams have the least effective attacks in the competition, as Sävehof have scored 187 goals, while Valcea scored 188

• in the first meeting between the sides, the Romanian champions secured a 23:17 win

Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA) vs RK Krim Mercator (SLO)
Saturday 29 February, 15:00 CET, live on ehfTV.com

• Brest’s record run of 10 unbeaten games came to an end last week with the 28:29 defeat against Györ

• the hosts will secure the second place in the group if they do not lose against Krim

• Krim are facing a must-win game, but their dream of reaching the quarter-finals relies on SCM Ramnicu Valcea failing to take a victory their game

• former Krim right back Ana Gros is the second top scorer in the DELO WOMEN’S EHF Champions League, with 65 goals in the first 10 games

• the French side have announced the signing of Montenegrin left back Djurdjina Jaukovic, from Buducnost, who has a two-year contract starting this summer

• Brest enjoyed a 29:25 win against Krim in the first game between the two teams

Buducnost (MNE) vs Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN)
Sunday 1 March, 17:00 CET, live on ehfTV.com

• with their 29:28 win against Brest last week, Györ extended their unbeaten run to a record-breaking 35 games in a row

• a victory would represent Györ’s 160th in the DELO WOMEN’S EHF Champions League

• the two teams have the most wins in the competition’s history: Györ are leading with 159, followed by Buducnost, 139

• Györ will secure first place in the group with a win, while Buducnost cannot fall lower than third

• the competition’s top scorer, Buducnost right wing Jovanka Radicevic (84 goals), played for Györ between 2011 and 2013

• the Hungarian powerhouse won the last five games between the two sides, including their first mutual encounter this season, 26:24