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Four teams - CSM Bucuresti, Rostov-Don, Györi Audi ETO KC, and Brest Bretagne Handball - made a huge step towards the DELO EHF Champions League quarter-final with clear wins in the play-offs last week.
The other ties, however, seem wide open going into the second leg this weekend, guaranteeing two days of excitement and drama.
One of the standout games is the Match of the Week on Saturday, when FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria try to make up a three-goal deficit against Buducnost.
Another team looking for a strong comeback are CSKA, who surprisingly suffered a five-goal defeat at RK Krim Mercator last week.
Only one goal separated Odende Håndbold and Vipers Kristiansand in their high-scoring first leg (36:35), so they have all to play for when they meet again on Sunday.
BV Borussia 09 Dortmund (GER) vs Metz Handball (FRA)
The match has been called off.
Metz Handball (FRA) vs BV Borussia 09 Dortmund (GER)
The match has been called off.
CSM Bucuresti (ROU) vs SCM Ramnicu Valcea (ROU) (first leg – 33:24)
Saturday 13 March, 16:00 CET, live on EHFTV
- CSM handed Valcea their worst loss in mutual games in the last four years, winning the first leg 33:24
- CSM star Cristina Neagu netted 13 times last week to raise her total to 89 goals, eight behind leading scorer Ana Gros from Brest Bretagne Handball
- in the past five seasons, CSM have never failed to progress to the quarter-final
- CSM have never lost a home game by more than seven goals; their worst home defeat came in this season's group phase against Vipers, 29:22
- Valcea won four of their last 13 away games in the competition, including three this season, against Odense, Podravka and Dortmund
Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN) vs SG BBM Bietigheim (GER) (first leg – 37:20)
Saturday 13 March, 16:00 CET, live on EHFTV
- the 17-goal defeat from the first leg was Bietigheim’s worst-ever loss in the competition
- Bietigheim will play their 40th match, having won seven so far, compared to Györ’s competition leading total of 172 wins
- Györ have not lost a home game for 40 straight matches since a loss against FC Midtjylland in October 2015
- Bietigheim have won two of their 19 away matches, and one them came in Hungary, against FTC in the group phase this season, 35:24
- Danish right wing Trine Østergaard and Norwegian goalkeeper Emily Sando could return for Bietigheim after missing the first leg
CSKA (RUS) vs RK Krim Mercator (SLO) (first leg — 20:25)
Saturday 13 March, 16:00 CET, live on EHFTV
- in the teams’ first ever meeting, Jovana Risovic’s 26 saves helped Krim to a surprise win by five goals over CSKA last week
- Krim also defeated another Russian team in the group phase this season: Rostov (28:27)
- CSKA won seven of their eight home matches this season and drew with Györ
- Krim lost four away matches this season but also had three draws, including at Rostov and CSM
- captain and playmaker Darya Dmitrieva was out injured last week but could return for CSKA this weekend
MOTW: FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) vs Buducnost (MNE) (first leg — 19:22)
Saturday 13 March, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV
- last week’s result marked Buducnost’s fifth victory in mutual games with FTC, while the Hungarian side have won six; one game ended in a draw
- Buducnost have reached the quarter-final in each season since 2010/11
- FTC were in the quarter-final for four consecutive years, but failed to do so in the 2019/20 season
- the Hungarian team will have to do without head coach Gabor Elek, who was tested positive for the Covid-19 during the week
- Jovanka Radicevic, who netted seven times last Sunday, is ranked fifth in the competition's scoring chart with 73 goals; FTC's best scorer Angela Malestein has 67 goals
Rostov-Don (RUS) vs HC Podravka Vegeta (RUS) (first leg — 29:20)
Sunday 14 March, 14:00 CET, live on EHFTV
- Rostov are on the brink of a quarter-final spot for the fourth consecutive season
- Rostov’s wing players Polina Kuznetsova, Iuliia Managarova and Katarina Krpez Slezak combined added 14 goals to last week’s win
- it was Podravka’s first European match under interim coach Antonio Pranjic, who took over after the passing of Zlatko Saracevic
- Podrvaka’s right back Dejana Milosavljevic netted six times in the first leg and remains the third-best scorer of the competition with 81 goals
- Rostov rested several key players in a narrow domestic league win over Kuban (24:23) Tuesday to maintain their perfect record after 19 matches
Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA) vs Team Esbjerg (DEN) (first leg – 33:27)
Sunday 14 March, 14:00 CET, live on EHFTV
- Brest’s Ana Gros is on the brink of passing the 100-goal milestone for the season, having raised her tally to 97 with 10 goals last week
- both Brest and Esbjerg reached the quarter-final last year, before the season was canceled amid the coronavirus outbreak
- Brest had three wins draws and three draws in home matches in the group phase, and only lost to CSKA
- Esbjerg got seven of their 12 points in away games; though that includes a win from the Krim match that was called off and assessed
- Esbjerg returned to the top of the Danish league table Wednesday as they overtook Odense following a 34:16 win against Randers
Odense Håndbold (DEN) vs Vipers Kristiansand (NOR) (first leg – 36:35)
Sunday 14 March, 16:00 CET, live on EHFTV
- last week’s result marked the game with the highest number of goals (71) in the first leg
- Odense can reach the quarter-final for the second time in only their second participation in the competition
- Vipers will be without star players Nora Mørk and Heidi Løke again
- after starting the season on a seven-game unbeaten run, Vipers lost five of their last six matches
- Odense lost two home games in the group phase, against Valcea and Brest
TEXT: EHF / Adrian Costeiu, Sergey Nikolaev
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