03.10.2014, 06:30
Big clash in Veszprem, while Montpellier host Slovenian party

GROUP C PREVIEW: Veszprém-Löwen is the game of the week for a reason, but fans can expect top handball action from the other pairings in GROUP C, too.

Big clash in Veszprem, while Montpellier host Slovenian party

The time has come for the first real clash of titans of the VELUX EHF Champions League season as Veszprém and Löwen take up battle formations in Hungary. Vardar take on the Medvedi side that is not to be taken lightly, while Montpellier and Celje try to avoid starting the season with two straight losses.

HC Vardar (MKD) vs Chekhovskie Medvedi (RUS)
Saturday 4 October, 19:00 hrs local time, live on ehfTV.com

After a year-long absence nobody really knew what to expect from Medvedi but now it is more than likely that Vardar management are busy analyzing the Russians’ game vs. Veszprém, where Chekhov put up a great performance.

Vardar on the other hand needed Árpád Sterbik to do magic in the first round to overcome the fiesty Celje side that gave a fight to their visitors. Although Vardar won the much-improved Macedonian squad was not as convincing as one might have thought judging by their summer signings.

Alexander Dereven and Kirill Kotov are two names that surely made it to the notes of Veselin Vujovic, while Vardar heavily relied on the brilliance of ex-Medvedi left wing Timur Dibirov and Alex Dujshebaev. Although the two teams have never met before there will be a lot of familiar faces as Vardar’s Mikhail Chipurin, Sergei Gorbok, Alexei Rastvortsev and Daniil Shishkarev also played in Chekhov earlier.

MKB-MVM Veszprém (HUN) vs Rhein-Neckar Löwen (GER)
Saturday 4 October, 21:00 hrs local time, live on ehfTV.com

Heavyweights of Group C are familiar opponents as the two sides met quite regularly in the past seasons. Last year Veszprém remained unbeaten vs Löwen but it was a single goal that put the Hungarian team ahead.

The home side overcame a tricky task by winning in Chekhov in the first round but it is safe to say that Veszprém will need more (especially in defence) to beat the inspired Löwen team, which ran over Montpellier a week ago.

Although Veszprém strengthened their imnpressive squad and Löwen lost important personell in the summer, their match-up is just as unpredictable as it was last year. Goalkeepers will have defining roles, the performances of both Roland Mikler and Niklas Landin are of great importance as far as their respective teams’ defences are concerned.

Rhen-Neckar Löwen have never won in Veszprém, what’s more, even registered one win over the Hungarian team, which came exactly five years before Saturday’s clash. The two giants met twice in Veszprém and the home side emerged as winners on both occasions.

Montpellier Agglomeration HB (FRA) vs RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko (SLO)
Sunday 5 October, 17:00 hrs local time, live on ehfTV.com

There is a huge difference between how the two teams lost their first match of: while Celje played a great game and were truly unlucky to lose to Vardar, Montpellier only managed to keep the pace of Löwen for the first 20 minutes of their match and were heavily beaten.

The young Celje side surprised their visitors and thanks to the inspired Miha Zarabec they went really close to beat Vardar. The Slovenian youngsters put up a magnificent defensive performance but due to their lack of routine they let Vardar back in the game.

Theres shall be no more imbalance as they face a Montpellier side eager to prove their lacklustre performance in Mannheim was just a slip. Neither team can afford to start their Champions League campaign with two straight losses, thus an intense, even game is to be expected in France this weekend.

No matter what the result, many Slovenians will be cheering after the final whistle as the Montpellier squad features five players from this country including Celje's former stalwart Dragan Gajic or another veteran Vid Kavticnik (pictured below).

TEXT: Bence Martha / br