02.03.2016, 12:30
PSG, Flensburg and Veszprem battle for top spot

GROUP A PREVIEW: Paris, Veszprem and maybe Flensburg have the chance to skip the Last 16 with victory in the last round of the group phase

PSG, Flensburg and Veszprem battle for top spot

With Celje and Besiktas playing their “farewell” match for this season’s VELUX EHF Champions League and Kiel vs Zagreb has no impact on the final ranking, much of the focus will be centred on the ehfTV  Match of the Week between PSG and Flensburg.

Both teams, alongside Veszprem, have a chance to skip the Last 16 and earn a direct spot in the quarter-finals.

Group A

THW Kiel (GER) vs HC PPD Zagreb (CRO)
Thursday 3 March; 19:30 hrs local time live on ehfTV

To take revenge for the 29:22 defeat in the opening round of this Champions League season is the only motivation for Kiel in this classic duel.

Kiel are confirmed fourth in the group, while Zagreb will definitely finish in fifth position. After 13 duels, the Champions League balance of the German and Croatian record champions is all-square at five wins each and three draws.

THW left back Domagoj Duvnjak and line player Ilja Brozovic will face their countrymen and former teammates, but Kiel coach Alfred Gislason already announced that his youngsters will receive longer playing time than usual.

MVM Veszprém (HUN) vs Orlen Wisla Plock (POL)
Saturday 5 March; 17:00 hrs local time live on ehfTV

After their hard-earned but well-deserved away win at Flensburg, Veszprem are definitely among the top two of this group. They will finish on top, if they beat Plock and Paris do not beat Flensburg.

Veszprem have been victorious at home all season and have never been beaten by Plock on home court. The significance of this match for Plock is quite low, as they will definitely finish the group phase sixth and await the third ranked team from Group B in the Last 16.

After the draw in their first meeting (27:27) at the start of the season, Veszprem and their former coach Carlos Antonio Ortega (now at Kolding) went  their separate ways and his former assistant Xavier Sabate took over.

Since he took charge, Veszprem have only lost two matches, at Kiel and Paris in the VELUX EHF Champions League).

RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko (SLO) vs Besiktas Jimnastik Kulubu (TUR)
Saturday 5 March; 18:00 hrs local time live on ehfTV

The 14th group match will be the last international game for both sides this season, but for Celje there is an added incentive to grab the two points.

Usually famous for their home strength, the Slovenians could not offer their fans any home win so far in this Champions League season. The only point they took was a draw against Kiel, so Celje are eager to finish the international season victorious, though they are (like Besiktas) already out of the race for the Last 16.

If Besiktas do not lose, it would be their first ever away point at this level, but despite a clear improvement throughout the season, the Turkish side will be considered the underdogs for this encounter.

MOTW: Paris Saint-Germain Handball (FRA) vs SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER)
Sunday 6 March; 17:00 hrs local time live on ehfTV

It was supposed to be the group final between two teams level at the top, until Flensburg’s winning streak of nine matches ended last weekend at home to Veszprem.

Sitting two points below Paris and point below Veszprem, the 2014 VELUX EHF FINAL4 winner’s chances of finishing on top of the group are slim.

A win at Paris and an away win for Plock at Veszprem is their only hope. As the other match match is on Saturday, both teams will know what’s required of them ahead of the ehfTV Match of the Week.

If Veszprem beat Plock, only a win will do for the team of Noka Serdarusic. Besides that, Paris are out for revenge after the sensational 39:32 opening weekend defeat at Flensburg.

PSG have won all Champions League matches in 2016 and all home matches this season - and can count not only on four World Handball Player of the Year winners, but also the current Champions League top scorer Mikkel Hansen (100 goals), who will face some former or current teammates from the Danish national team (Lauge, Eggert, Svan, Möller, Mogensen).

The match will also be the duel of two of the most experienced goalkeepers in this competition: Thierry Omeyer and Mattias Andersson, who were opponents with their national teams in the 2012 Olympic final and were Champions League winners together in the squad of THW Kiel in 2007.

TEXT: Björn Pazen / cor