Three teams aiming to keep on winning
After three rounds of the VELUX EHF Champions League 2019/20, three teams are still unbeaten in group A. Flensburg, who won against Zagreb on Wednesday but dropped a point earlier in the competition, as well as PSG and Aalborg.
Both the French and the Danish side face a tough challenge this weekend. Aalborg will host Szeged in the Match of the Week, while PSG will try to keep going at home against Celje.
Group B features a clash between two unbeaten teams, as flawless title-holders Vardar host Kiel in what could prove a pivotal battle for the top spot in the group, a place which secures a quarter-final place.
In another group B match, Brest and Motor are fighting to finally get their first points of the season.
GROUP A
Barça (ESP) vs Elverum Handball (NOR)
Saturday 12 October, 20:00 CET, live on ehfTV.com
-
Barça will be playing the 300th CL match in the history of the club
-
both teams have not met before in a European Cup competition
-
Barça won twice in the Spanish league while Elverum lost and had a draw in the Norwegian league since the last CL round
-
best scorer for Barça is currently Ludovic Fabregas (14), Lukas Sandell has one less for Elverum
-
Barça have collected four points so far, while Elverum are still on zero
MOTW: Aalborg Handbold (DEN) vs MOL-Pick Szeged (HUN)
Sunday 13 October, 16:50 CET, live on ehfTV.com
-
Aalborg could stretch their winning run to four matches, which would be a new record for the club
-
Aalborg already have more points than they gathered in the entire group phase of 2017/18, when they finished with five points
-
from their four previous meeting, Szeged won two, Aalborg one, and they had one draw
-
Aalborg’s Sebastian Barthold and Szeged’s Bogdan Radivojevic share the lead in the CL top scorers’ list, with 21 goals each
Paris Saint-Germain HB (FRA) vs RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko (SLO)
Sunday 13 October, 17:00 CET, live on ehfTV.com
-
PSG have not lost a CL game against Celje since 1997, and have won the last six matches between the two teams
-
Celje are one of three teams in this group still on zero points
-
PSG (on six points) would overtake current leaders Flensburg (seven) again if they beat Celje
-
PSG are still missing Sander Sagosen due to a hamstring injury, but Mikkel Hansen could be back after a three-week absence due to a concussion
GROUP B
HC Vardar (MKD) vs THW Kiel (GER)
Saturday 12 October, 17:30 CET, live on ehfTV.com
-
it is the clash between the top two sides in the group’s ranking, the only unbeaten teams, with the two best attacks, 98 goals scored by Kiel, 96 by Vardar
-
Vardar are on a five-game winning streak, dating back to last season
-
this will be Kiel’s 280th CL game; only Barça (300 this weekend) and Veszprém (282) have played more matches
-
the teams met six times before in the CL, with Kiel taking four wins and Vardar two
PGE Vive Kielce (POL) vs Montpellier HB (FRA)
Saturday 12 October, 18:00 CET, live on ehfTV.com
-
after throwing off the season with a defeat, Montpellier won the next two games and climbed up to third place
-
Kielce lost their last game and are one point behind in fifth
-
if Kielce score at least 26 goals, they will reach the 5,000-goal mark in the CL and become only the 10th team to clear that mark
-
Kielce lost their Polish league game to rivals Plock on Wednesday (27:26) while Montpellier drew at Saint Raphael (29:29)
-
it’s 4-4 in the teams’ head-to-head statistics; last season Kielce won in France (29:26), but Montpellier won in Poland (28:27)
HC Meshkov Brest (BLR) vs HC Motor Zaporozhye (UKR)
Saturday 12 October, 17: CET, live on ehfTV.com
-
both teams lost all three their matches so far; Brest have a goal difference of -12, Motor of -20
-
Motor had the worst defence in the competition before the start of the round, 104 conceded goals, one more than Zagreb
-
Brest are on a five-game losing streak dating back to March while Motor did not win any of their last six games, drawing only once
-
there are no previous encounters between the two sides in the CL
Telekom Veszprém KC (HUN) vs FC Porto Sofarma (POR)
Sunday 13 October, 15:00 CET, live on ehfTV.com
-
regarded as a pre-season favourite, Veszprém lost their last two matches and dropped to sixth place in the group
-
with another defeat, Veszprém would equal their worst losing run in the CL (three straight games, in 1996 and 2017)
-
this could be Veszprém’s 190th win in the competition, a mark only passed by Barça. Porto played only 23 games, winning 11 of them
-
Veszprém boasted their morale with a 32:23 win against Meshkov Brest in the SEHA League last week
-
the clubs have not met before in the CL
TEXT: Kevin Domas, Adrian Costeiu / ew
|
