10.02.2015, 05:20
Barcelona and Kolding collide in early group final

GROUP B PREVIEW: First place in the group may be decided on Sunday’s ehfTV.com Match of the Week at Palau Blaugrana

Barcelona and Kolding collide in early group final

FC Barcelona and KIF Kolding Kobenhavn are meeting in what is effectively a group final at Palau Blaugrana in Barcelona on Sunday night.

Sitting one point ahead of the Danish champions with two matches left, Barcelona will make things clear with a win, while the visitors will take matters into their own hands if they can leave the Catalonian capital with two points.

The first VELUX EHF Champions League game of 2015 will take place on Wednesday, when SG Flensburg-Handewitt have a home game against Besiktas MOGAZ HT and two points are a must if they are to keep third position and maybe still challenge for second.

Orlen Wisla Plock are still in the hunt for third and can keep up the pressure on Flensburg with a win in Sweden against Alingsas HK on Sunday afternoon.

VELUX EHF Champions League Group B

SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) vs Besiktas MOGAZ HT (TUR)
Wednesday 11 February at 19:30 local time live on ehfTV.com

Reigning Champions League winners Flensburg still have the chance to finish second in the group if KIF Kolding Kobenhavn stumble in the last two matches, but at the same time the North German team are struggling to stay in the top three in what looks like a close race with Orlen Wisla Plock.

Therefore, a home win is a must for Flensburg, when the Turkish champions and Champions League debutants visit the Flens Arena Wednesday night.

“We have been warned. Despite our 27:20 away win in the first match against Besiktas in October, that game showed that Besiktas can be an unpleasant opponent,” Flensburg manager Dierk Schmäscke told the club’s website.

Alingsas HK (SWE) vs Orlen Wisla Plock (POL)
Sunday 15 February at 13:30 local time live on ehfTV.com

To Alingsas, only the honour and the direct duel with Besiktas to escape finishing last in the group are at stake. To the Polish visitors, the situation is very different.

Wisla Plock are involved in a race with Flensburg for third position in the group. That race may be decided when Plock and Flensburg meet in Poland on the last match day, but in order to keep their hopes of taking the third place, Plock will need a win in Sweden first.

FC Barcelona (ESP) vs KIF Kolding Kobenhavn (DEN)
Sunday 15 February 19:15 local time – ehfTV.com Match of the Week

Nothing less than first place in the group is at stake in this encounter, which will be featured as the ehfTV.com Match of the Week.

Barcelona are one point ahead of the Kolding before the Sunday night meeting in the Palau Blaugrana, and thus, a home win will decide the matter.

A Kolding win, on the other hand, will keep the decision open for a week, when Kolding play at home against Alingsas on the last match day, while Barcelona will be flying to Istanbul to meet Besiktas.

Barcelona are obviously favourites at home, and their chances of winning will be boosted even further if Kolding do not manage to get their two injured backs Kim Andersson and Lasse Andersson fit in time for the match.

TEXT: Peter Bruun / cor