08.09.2025, 11:00
Aalborg host Veszprém in MOTW as the 2025/26 season starts

ROUND PREVIEW: The Machineseeker EHF Champions League is back and 16 teams will be trying to succeed SC Magdeburg on the podium in Cologne next June

After a two-month break, the Machineseeker EHF Champions League is about to throw off again, with some exciting clashes already on the menu.

The first Match of the Week in the new season brings together two teams with the clear goal to make it to Cologne: Aalborg Håndbold and One Veszprém HC, who have six EHF Champions League finals combined, but still wait for their trophies. After surprisingly parting ways with coach Jaron Siewert, 2025 finalists Füchse Berlin travel to HBC Nantes, their semi-final opponents last season. The clash between Sporting Clube de Portugal and Dinamo Bucuresti and the duel between Industria Kielce and Kolstad Håndball are both rematches of last season’s group phase.

In group B, titleholders SC Magdeburg will host a brand-new looking Paris Saint-Germain, while 2024 champions Barça will also play at home, against GOG. Plock will try to assess their ambitions right from the start in a tough away game at OTP Bank - PICK Szeged. In the meantime, HC Eurofarm Pelister and HC Zagreb will face each other in the Balkan derby of the group.

TEXT: EHF / Björn Pazen & Kevin Domas