|
While former EHF Cup winners Füchse Berlin and SC Magdeburg are on the brink of the EHF European League Men quarter-final, other teams - including French sides Montpellier HB and USAM Nimes Gard - still have to do it all when the Last 16 wraps up on Tuesday.
IFK Kristianstad and Abanca Ademar Leon face each other twice in less than 24 hours on Monday and Tuesday in a double-header in Sweden after their first leg was postponed last week.
LAST 16, LEG 2:
IFK Kristianstad (SWE) vs Abanca Ademar Leon (ESP)
Monday 29 March, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
Abanca Ademar Leon (ESP) vs IFK Kristianstad (SWE) in Sweden
Tuesday 30 March, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
- this tie will be played as a double-header in Sweden after the first leg was postponed last week
- Kristianstad ranked third in group B while Leon finished as runners-up to Plock in group A
- both teams won five of their matches in the group phase, while Leon had the lowest number of defeats in their group - one, compared to Plock’s two
- Kristianstad have just qualified for the semi-final of the Swedish championship, defeating Malmö twice (32:22 away, 31:28 at home)
- both teams have one player in the top seven of the goal scorers list after the group phase: Leon’s Gonzalo Perez (59 goals) and Kristianstad’s Adam Nyfjäll (57)
Kadetten Schaffhausen (SWI) vs Montpellier HB (FRA)
Tuesday 30 March, 17:00 CEST, live on EHFTV
- Kadetten came back from Montpellier with a draw in the first leg, 27:27
- Montpellier defeated Limoges in the Lidl Starligue on Saturday (37:29) while Kadetten drew with Wacker Thun (31:31) in the Swiss league
- Portuguese line player Alexis Borges has returned for Montpellier: after a month-long calf injury, he scored eight goals against Limoges
- the only previous meeting between Kadetten and Montpellier in Switzerland, in 2011, was won by the hosts, 31:26
- Kadetten lost one home match this European League season, 34:27 against Rhein-Neckar Löwen
HC CSKA (RUS) vs GOG (DEN)
Tuesday 30 March, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
- CSKA will try to make up a two-goal deficit from the first match, 33:31
- GOG top scorer Emil Jakobsen raised his European tally for the season to 96 goals last week
- CSKA had an easy win over Dinamo Chelyabinsk and GOG drew with Skanderborg in their domestic leagues last week
- CSKA lost only once on home court this season, against SC Magdeburg
- the Russian team’s debutant season has been successful so far - they took seven wins and finished second in group C
Rhein-Neckar Löwen (GER) vs RK Nexe (CRO)
Tuesday 30 March, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
- Nexe are hit by several injuries going into the decisive leg in Germany
- Löwen left it late last week but returned from the first leg in Croatia with a two-goal advantage, 27:25
- Löwen have won nine of their 11 matches so far in this competition
- Löwen scored a win against TSV GWD Minden in the Bundesliga, giving them fourth place
- Nexe had a convincing win over MRK Sesvete EXE in the play-offs of the Croatian league
SC Magdeburg (GER) vs HC Eurofarm Pelister (MKD)
Tuesday 30 March, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
- SCM won the first leg 32:24 thanks to 10 goals of Omar Ingi Magnussson, who is now on 58 goals for the season
- Magdeburg’s last home defeat in a European knockout match came against Dunkerque (30:25) in the EHF Cup semi-final on 22 April 2012
- SCM won all home matches in the group phase, Pelister won one ‘away’ match – against Tatabanya, but that game was played in Bitola
- Pelister’s last match in Germany ended with a 20:28 defeat at Löwen in the group phase
- the winner of this tie will play Leon or Kristianstad in the quarter-final
Füchse Berlin (GER) vs Fivers (AUT)
Tuesday 30 March, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
- Füchse took a clear 35:27 win in the first leg in Vienna
- two Serbian players were crucial for Füchse: goalkeeper Dejan Milosavljev (13 saves) and line player Mijajlo Marsenic (seven goals)
- Fivers earned only one point – at Metalurg – in seven away matches this European League season, including qualification
- Fivers will again be without their top scorer, Lukas Hutecek (65 goals), due to a broken finger
- The winners of this tie play either Montpellier or Kadetten next
USAM Nimes Gard (FRA) vs Chekhovskie Medvedi (RUS)
Tuesday 30 March, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
- Chekhov won the first leg at home by five goals, 30:25
- both teams have not played domestic games since the first leg
- Nimes only won once by more than five goals this season: against Tatran in Presov (28:22)
- Chekhov have not lost by more than two goals this season, in any competition
- Nimes left wing Michaël Guigou played for Montpellier in 2010 when Chekhov defeated Montpellier on away goals to qualify for the first VELUX EHF FINAL4
ORLEN Wisla Plock (POL) vs Sporting CP (POR)
Tuesday 30 March, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
- Plock won the first leg by four goals, 29:25
- however, last week’s match was balanced for a long time and the score was still level at half-time (15:15)
- Sporting lost just once in the Portuguese domestic league
- Plock are ranked third in the Polish league, but have played two games less than No. 2, Azoty-Pulawy
- two Serbian players face each other: Plock’s Predrag Vejin and Sporting’s Darko Djukic
TEXT: EHF / Danijela Lemaic, Kevin Domas, Tiago Nogueira, Björn Pazen
|
