22.02.2019, 11:57
Rostov and Metz battle for top position

GROUP 1 PREVIEW: The Russian and French champions play for first place in the group, while three teams continue the fight for the last quarter-final spot

Rostov and Metz battle for top position

Rostov-Don, Metz Handball and Buducnost have all booked early tickets to the Women's EHF Champions League Quarter-finals, yet each club aims to finish as high as possible. Rostov-Don and Metz Handball will clash in the fight for the top spot on Saturday.

The fourth quarter-finalist from Group 1 is yet to be determined, and two direct rivals for that place – Brest Bretagne Handball and Odense HC – will meet on Sunday, while Kobenhavn Handball aim to snatch some points from Buducnost the day before. 

Kobenhavn Handball (DEN) vs Buducnost (MNE)
Saturday 23 February, 13:30 local time, live on ehfTV.com

• With 10 points, Buducnost have already secured a quarter-final spot and are currently third in the group

• Kobenhavn are in fourth position with four points, ranking higher than fellow Danish team Odense based on goal difference

• Buducnost won the reverse fixture in Podgorica by just two goals, 29:27

• After netting 12 times against Brest, Buducnost's Djurdjina Jaukovic climbed to third place on the top scorer list, with 56 goals

Rostov-Don (RUS) vs Metz Handball (FRA)
Saturday 23 February, 16:30 local time, live on ehfTV.com

• Both teams sit above the rest of the group on 11 points, with Metz in the top position thanks to a better goal difference

• The French champions were stronger in the reverse fixture on their home court, winning 29:25

• Rostov’s Dutch international Lois Abbingh will play against the new coach of her national team, Emmanuel Mayonnade

• On Wednesday, Rostov beat Lada Togliatti in the Russian league (28:22) and secured first place in the regular competition before the start of the play-offs

Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA) vs Odense HC (DEN)
Sunday 24 February, 15:00 local time, live on ehfTV.com

• Brest sit bottom of the group with just two points; Odense are fifth with four

• Odense beat Brest in their first mutual match last month in Denmark, 28:24

• Brest have lost four straight games in the competition, including all three in the main round

• The French team’s Ana Gros is joint top scorer of the tournament, with 57 goals

TEXT: Sergey Nikolaev / cg