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After a two-week break, the DELO EHF Champions League is back with a bang.
The Match of the Week features the only two teams with a 100 per cent record in group A, Vipers Kristiansand and CSM Bucuresti.
Elsewhere, FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria will travel to Denmark to face Esbjerg, while Per Johansson is set to debut for Rostov in an away trip to winless Bietigheim.
In group B, the focus will be on the game in Györ, where the current title holders will host Odense, who boast a perfect record after three matches.
Also in group B, two teams playing their debut season in the competition will clash in Dortmund, as CSKA travel to Germany.
The group B match between Valcea and Podravka has been postponed.
GROUP A
Metz Handball (FRA) vs RK Krim Mercator (SLO)
Saturday 10 October, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV.com
- Metz will look for another victory on their home court, after winning their last game in the top European competition 36:27 against Bietigheim
- Krim impressed in their last two outings, earning a point against Rostov, 23:23, and losing their first game by just one goal, 26:27, against Vipers
- in the previous 24 seasons played in the DELO EHF Champions League, Krim have never started the season without winning at least once in their first three games
- the two sides met 12 times, with Krim victorious in nine games, however, the last mutual encounters were seven seasons ago, when Metz and Krim split the wins
MOTW: Vipers Kristiansand (NOR) vs CSM Bucuresti (ROU)
Saturday 10 October, 18:00 CEST, live on EHFTV.com
- the two are the only teams in the group with four points from two games, as they enter the Match of the Week on a two-game winning streak
- CSM have not played an official game since their 30:29 win against Esbjerg on 20 September
- Romanian star Cristina Neagu will not make the trip to Norway due to a positive Covid-19 test recorded on 1 October
- Vipers’ right back Nora Mørk will face her former team, which she left over the summer to join the Norwegian champions
- CSM and Vipers have met four times before, with the Romanian side taking three wins, including in two away games in Norway
SG BBM Bietigheim (GER) vs Rostov-Don (RUS)
Sunday 11 October, 14:00 CEST, live on EHFTV.com
- Bietigheim are on a four-game losing streak, dating to last season, and are only four games shy of their worst run
- Per Johansson will finally make his awaited debut on Rostov’s bench, as the Swedish coach has cleared his formalities and led team meetings
- the German side have the weakest defence in the competition, conceding 102 goals in three games, or an average of 34 goals per game
- only Valcea (21 goals per game) and Buducnost (23 goals per game) have scored less than Rostov (24.5 goals per game) in the start to the season
- Rostov won all four mutual games, all of which were played in the 2016/17 season of the Women’s EHF Cup, including a 53:46 aggregate victory in the final
Team Esbjerg (DEN) vs FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN)
Sunday 11 October, 14:00 CEST, live on EHFTV.com
- due to several Covid-19 positive cases in the side, FTC had their last two games postponed, making them the only team in the competition to have played just one game – a 26:25 loss against Rostov
- Esbjerg lost their last game in the DELO EHF Champions League in the final second, 30:29, against CSM Bucuresti
- FTC played their last official game on 16 September, taking a 37:18 win in the domestic league against Bekescsaba
- Esbjerg enjoyed a 36:33 win against Herning-Ikast in the Danish league on Wednesday, and top the domestic table with seven wins in seven games
- the sides have met in the premium European competition twice, in last season’s main round, with each team winning their home game
GROUP B
Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN) vs Odense Handbold (DEN)
Saturday 10 October, 18:00 CEST, live on EHFTV.com
- Odense are the only team in group B with a 100 per cent record, three wins in as many games, which is their record streak in the continental top flight
- Gyor boast a 40-match unbeaten run in the competition, but this season, they have narrowly escaped defeats in both away games, at CSKA and Brest
- however, with 95 goals, the Hungarian side have the highest scoring attack in the competition, while Odense have also been doing well, hitting the 30-goal mark in each of their three matches and scoring 92 goals on aggregate
- the sides have only met twice before, in the DELO EHF Champions League 2018/19 quarter-final, when Györ won both matches, 29:28 away and 33:21 at home
- Györ’s Anita Gorbicz is only one goal shy of her 1,000th EHF Champions League goal (including qualification matches)
Buducnost (MNE) vs Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA)
Saturday 10 October, 18:00 CEST, live on EHFTV.com
- Buducnost are yet to grab their first points in the competition, having opened with three straight defeats
- in contrast, Brest enjoyed a good start, claiming two wins and then splitting points with Györ to hold second place in group B
- Ana Gros has been particularly impressive at Brest, as she leads the tournament’s scoring chart with 24 goals
- the teams have met four times in the continental top flight, all during the year 2019, with Brest winning twice, Buducnost once and one more match ending in a stalemate
- with three wins in as many games, Brest lead the French league ahead of fellow DELO EHF Champions League side Metz, based on goal difference
BV Borussia 09 Dortmund (GER) vs CSKA Moscow (RUS)
Sunday 11 October, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV.com
- both teams are playing their first season in the DELO EHF Champions League, and for CSKA, this is a debut in European club competitions
- however, the Russian side have been doing very well – with five points after three matches, they are third placed in group B
- Dortmund started the competition with two defeats, but showed signs of improvement by winning at Podravka, 26:25
- Borussia struggle in defence, as they have conceded 98 goals in three games, which is the second highest number in the competition after fellow German side Bietigheim
- Dortmund’s Julia Maidhof and CSKA’s Elena Mikhaylichenko have both scored 19 goals in the tournament and share third place in the scoring chart with Podravka’s Azenaide Carlos
TEXT: Sergey Nikolaev / Adrian Costeiu
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