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The EHF Champions League Men 2021/22 returns to action this week with round 4 of the group phase.
In group A, both unbeaten leaders HC Vardar 1961 and Pick Szeged have the chance to extend their series on home ground. While Szeged host Elverum Handball, Vardar have a tough battle ahead in a repeat of the 2018 semi-final against Montpellier HB.
After their trip to the IHF Super Globe in Saudi Arabia, Aalborg Håndbold face HC Meshkov Brest, while Domagoj Duvnjak is set to meet many fellow Croatians when THW Kiel take on HC PPD Zagreb.
Two of the four teams that share the lead in group B face each other when FC Porto host Telekom Veszprém in the Match of the Week on Thursday.
The other two will play on home court: Lomza Vive Kielce take on SG Flensburg-Handewitt, and Barça will welcome back Xavi Pascual in Palau Blaugrana for one night, when the coach visits with new club CS Dinamo Bucuresti.
GROUP A
THW Kiel (GER) vs HC PPD Zagreb (CRO)
Wednesday 13 October, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
- Kiel suffered their first defeat of the season in the previous round: 37:30 in MOTW against Montpellier
- Zagreb, on the other hand, earned their first CL points since March 2020 with a 27:27 draw against Elverum
- Kiel have won eight of their 16 matches against Zagreb, including all three since a defeat in 2015
- Kiel’s Swedish right wing Niclas Ekberg leads the CL scorers list with 22 goals
- Zagreb’s new arrivals Zeljko Musa, Jakov Gojun, Ivan Cupic and Filip Ivic all played for Bundesliga clubs in the past
- Kiel draw with Füchse Berlin 28:28 on Sunday and remained unbeaten in the German Bundesliga this season
Aalborg Håndbold (DEN) vs HC Meshkov Brest (BLR)
Wednesday 13 October, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
- two of their four previous duels ended in a draw – in 2003 and 2018, both in Brest; both teams won one of the other duels
- Aalborg, the 2021 finalists, started the new season with two wins but went down 30:28 against Vardar in round 3
- Brest are the only team in the CL this season without point yet
- Aalborg finished third in their debut appearance at IHF Super Globe in Saudi Arabia last week
- Aalborg’s Swede Lukas Sandell is fourth best scorer of the CL this season with 19 goals; Stas Skube leads for Brest with 15
HC Vardar 1961 (MKD) vs Montpellier HB (FRA)
Wednesday 13 October, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
- not expected by many fans before the start of the season, Vardar are topping the table after dropping only one point in three rounds
- Montpellier have one win (against Kiel), one draw and one defeat so far
- Montpellier beat Vardar 28:27 in the 2017/18 semi-final on their way to winning their second title, but Vardar won six of their nine duels in total
- both sides are two-time CL winners: Montpellier in 2003 and 2018, Vardar in 2017 and 2019
- Vardar’s squad boasts four French players: The Nyokas brothers, Bakary Diallo, and Jeremy Toto
- in the French league, Montpellier lost in Cesson (25:21) on Sunday and dropped to 10th in the rankings
Pick Szeged (HUN) vs Elverum Handball (NOR)
Thursday 14 October, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
- Szeged are still unbeaten after two victories and one draw
- Elverum still wait for their first victory of the season but have already tied twice – with Vardar and Zagreb
- both teams also shared a group in the last two seasons, with Szeged winning all three matches that were played
- Hungarian international Dominik Máthé is Elverum’s best scorer so far with 15 goals; Szeged’s leading scorer also has 15: new arrival Sebastian Frimmel
- Szeged top the Hungarian league with six wins from six matches
GROUP B
Lomza Vive Kielce (POL) vs SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER)
Wednesday 13 October, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
- Kielce are currently tied leaders of group B with four points, while Flensburg are on just one point so far – from a draw against PSG
- last year, both sides competed for the top spot in group A, with Flensburg winning the decisive game in Poland in the last round to finish first
- Kielce and Flensburg played three times to a draw in their six previous matches; Flensburg won two of the other matches, Kielce one
- Hampus Wanne is second best scorer of the current CL season with 21 goals; Dylan Nahi and Arkadiusz Moryto are Kielce’s best shooters with 14 each
- both teams won in their domestic leagues last weekend; Kielce lead in Poland while Flensburg are fifth in Germany
Paris Saint-Germain HB (FRA) vs HC Motor (UKR)
Thursday 14 October, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
- Paris are fifth in group B with three points, one place ahead of Motor with one point less
- Motor have not won an away game in the CL since December 2020, when they beat anther French side – Nantes (32:31)
- Motor have won four of 14 matches against French opponents in the club’s CL history
- PSG won both games when they also shared a group in the 2018/19 season: 31:25 at home, 35:29 in Ukraine
- both teams had easy wins in their domestic leagues: PSG in Nimes (32:25), Motor Handball Academy (41:17)
MOTW: FC Porto (POR) vs Telekom Veszprém HC (HUN)
Thursday 14 October, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
- going into this Match of the Week, both sides have four points and share the lead in group B with Barça and Kielce
- out of those four teams, Porto are the only one with a negative goal difference
- Veszprém won the only two matches the teams played against other in the past – in the 2019/20 group phase: 38:28 at home, 31:24 in Portugal
- both teams had a successful dress rehearsal in their national leagues: Veszprém won against Kecskemet (42:24) and Porto against Belenenses (32:25)
Barça (ESP) vs CS Dinamo Bucuresti (ROU)
Thursday 14 October, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
- three CL 2021 winners who left Barça in the summer will return with their new club: head coach Xavi Pascual, Alex Pascual, and line player Cédric Sorhaindo
- seven players in the Dinamo squad have played in Spain in the past
- Eduardo Gurbindo, another former Barça player, could make his debut for Dinamo, two weeks after arriving in Bucharest from Vardar
- the teams have not met before in a European club competition
- Barça, who were the defending champions, lost the final of the IHF Super Globe last weekend to SC Magdeburg; Dinamo remained undefeated in the Romanian league
TEXT: EHF / Björn Pazen, Kevin Domas
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