Still 14 of the tickets to the Last 16 are up for grabs in the EHF European Cup Men 2021/22, a week after Sweden’s Skövde HK and Greece’s A.C. PAOK booked their places by winning doubleheaders.
In round 3 on Saturday and Sunday, 12 second-leg matches as well as two doubleheaders will complete the line-up for the next stage.
- last week, Skövde eliminated Israeli team AS SGS Ramhat Hashron, while PAOK proved too strong for Latvian side Tenax Dobele
- this weekend, Estonia’s HC Tallinn host Swedish team Alingsas HK, and Slovakia’s MSK Povazska Bystrica take on Russian side SKIF Krasnodar in doubleheaders
- in a Czech derby, Talent tym Plzenskeho kraje, who beat HC Robe Zubri 35:27 at home, hope to defend their eight-goal advantage on Saturday in Zubri
- two more Czech teams play at home following first-leg away wins: HCB Karvina welcome Cyprus’ Sabbianco Anorthosis Famagusta after a 29:24 victory in Nicosia, while HC Dukla Praha face Norway’s Drammen HK, whom they beat 29:28 last week
- Russian team HC Victor are set to meet Greek side Bianco Monte Drama 1986 after an impressive 41:39 win in the most high-scoring game of the last week
Former Challenge Cup winners Turda and SKA under pressure
Many ties in round 3 are still very open following the first-leg results, and quite a number of teams have a realistic chance to go through despite losing last week.
Two former EHF Challenge Cup winners, SKA Minsk and AHC Potaissa Turda, hope to make up for away defeats last week. A 28:25 defeat in Istanbul leaves a chance for SKA when they host Turkish champions Besiktas JK in Belarus on Sunday. On the same day, Turda try to hit back at home in Romania against Kosovo’s KH Besa Famgas after a surprising 30:28 loss in the first leg.
