All eyes set on thrilling return legs in Norway and Spain

Elverum Håndball are one of the teams in need of making up ground if they want to book a ticket for the EHF European League's group phase, as the Norwegians are hosting MT Melsungen. The former two-time Cup Winners' Cup champions, Abanca Ademar Leon, are eagerly awaiting the visit of ABC de BRAGA, with only a couple of goals separating them after the first leg, while Fraikin BM. Granollers will defend a three-goal lead against IFK Kristianstad in Spain too.

Bjerringbro-Silkeborg, VfL Gummersbach, HCB Karvina, Valur and Ystads IF HF are holding a decent advantage ahead of the return legs, while drama is not ruled out in the Swiss derby and in the highly-anticipated match between the debutants, Limoges Handball and RK Trimo Trebnje in France.

QUALIFICATION ROUND LEG 2:

Maritimo da Madeira Andebol/SAD (POR) vs Ystads IF HF (SWE)
Friday 6 September, 20:00 CEST

• the Portuguese club is back on the European stage after a 15-year absence, when Madeira last featured in the Challenge Cup back in 2008/09
• the energetic hosts are trailing by eight goals in the tie as Ystads earned a decent advantage (39:31) in Sweden
• only a couple of players in Madeira's young squad are aged over 30
• Madeira's opening half performance in the first leg surprised Ystads, as they even held a three-goal lead; they will need to keep their concentration throughout the return leg if they are to erase Ystads' advantage
• the winner of the tie will join Bidasoa Irun (ESP), CSM Constanta (ROU) and KGHM Chrobry Glogow (POL) in group D

Fraikin BM. Granollers (ESP) vs IFK Kristianstad (SWE)
Saturday 7 September, 17:00 CEST

• the ambitious hosts have a chance to secure a comeback in the EHF European League's group phase in front of their own fans, after missing out on a place last season
• the Spanish club boasts a richer history than Kristianstad in European club competitions, as Granollers are two-time EHF Cup winners
• Granollers are undefeated on home court in all competitions since December last year
• Roberto Rodríguez Lario made 15 saves and recorded a 35 per cent save efficiency in the first leg in Sweden; if Kristianstad hope to mount a comeback, they will have to find a way past the talented Spanish goalkeeper
• the Swedish club held a three-goal lead in the first leg, but ended up losing by three goals; they will need to display a first-class performance to diminish Granollers' advantage in Spain

Elverum Håndball (NOR) vs MT Melsungen (GER)
Saturday 7 September, 17:00 CEST

• the Norwegian runners-up are undefeated on home court in all competitions since November last year
• Elverum risk missing out on a place in the EHF's club competitions for the first time since 2009/10, if they fail to overturn Melsungen's five-goal advantage (28:23) from the first leg
• only six players got on the scoresheet for Elverum in the first leg in comparison to Melsungen's ten scorers, and if they are to mount a comeback in Norway they will need a much stronger team performance in defence and attack
• Melsungen boast a modest history in European club competitions and they have only featured once in the EHF European League, but failed to reach the group phase
• former EHF Champions League winner with HC Vardar 1961, Roberto Garcia Parrondo, is at the helm of the German club; Melsungen’s Dainis Kristopans and Rogerio Moraes Ferreira were also in Vardar’s squad back then

GC Amicitia Zürich (SUI) vs HC Kriens-Luzern (SUI)
Saturday 7 September, 18:00 CEST

• the optimistic hosts have recorded four wins and one defeat in the past five matches on home court against Kriens-Luzern in the Swiss Handball League
• Amicitia Zürich have a chance to celebrate an important milestone in front of their own fans if they annulate Kriens-Luzern's six-goal advantage (37:31) and reach the EHF European League's group phase for the first time in their history
• a national derby, as the cities of Zürich and Luzern are only around 50 kilometers away from each other in Switzerland
• Kriens-Luzern aim to replicate last season's success of reaching the EHF European League's group stage, for the second time in their history
• the winner of the tie will join group A featuring GOG (DEN), RK Gorenje Velenje (SLO) and the aggregate winner between ABC de BRAGA (POR) and Abanca Ademar Leon (ESP)

RK Bjelin Spacva Vinkovci (CRO) vs Valur (ISL)
Saturday 7 September, 19:00 CEST

• the Croatian club's home form is not one to be proud of, as Spacva have recorded only a couple of wins in the past five matches on home court over this calendar year
• the hosts have featured only once in the EHF's club competitions, when they were eliminated by HC Metalurg in the EHF European League's qualification round 1 back in 2020/21
• Spacva took Valur by storm at the start of the first leg in Reykjavik as they held a six-goal lead in the opening half, but failed to keep the high tempo throughout the match and ended up losing by nine goals (34:25)
• Valur are the reigning EHF European Cup champions and the Icelandic club boasts a chance to secure a place in the EHF European League's group phase for only the second time in their history
• the Icelandic club's squad is a mixture of experienced players like Björgvin Pall Gustavsson (39) or Alexander Petterson (44) and young players like 22-year-old Bjarni í Selvindi
• after being down by six goals in the first half, Valur scored a sky-high 21 goals in the second half to win the match

Limoges Handball (FRA) vs RK Trimo Trebnje (SLO)
Saturday 7 September, 19:00 CEST

• the French club is a debutant in European club competitions, after finishing in fifth place in Starligue last season
• Limoges are trailing by four goals (32:28) in the tie, but the Alberto Entrerrios Rodriguez-led squad can be content with the result, as they were down by six at half-time in Slovenia
• the Slovenian runners-up are undefeated, both home and away, in all competitions since February
• the Slovenian club is led by the Macedonian coach and former player Radoslav Stojanovik, who replaced Uros Zorman at the helm after the end of last season
• if Trimo Trebnje successfully defend their four-goal lead in France, they will return to the EHF European League group stage for the first time since 2020/21

HC Izvidac (BIH) vs HCB Karvina (CZE)
Saturday 7 September, 19:00 CEST

• the hopeful hosts are undefeated on home court in all competitions since November last year
• the Bosnian champions featured in the EHF European League's group phase last season, but they will need to overturn Karvina's 11-goal advantage (33:22) from the first leg to replicate last season's success
• Izvidac boast an extremely young squad, with their oldest player being 25 years old
• Karvina have become mainstays in the EHF European Cup after featuring in the third-tier competition for four consecutive years
• Vojtech Kostalek displayed an excellent performance between the posts for Karvina, making 16 saves (55 per cent save efficiency), one of the best individual performances in the first leg of the qualification round

VfL Gummersbach (GER) vs Mors-Thy Håndbold (DEN)
Sunday 8 September, 16:30 CEST

• the German club has been undefeated on home court since March and with the 13-goal advantage gained in the first leg, the hosts have high hopes of reaching the second-tier club competition's group stage
• Gummersbach are back in European club competitions for the first time since 2011/12, when they featured in the Cup Winners' Cup, which they won a couple of times in their history
• the Danish club boasts a modest history on the European scene, as this is only their third-ever participation
• the visitors from Thisted hope to leave a much better impression in Germany, after failing to keep up with Gummersbach's tempo in the first leg

FTC-Green Collect (HUN) vs Bjerringbro-Silkeborg (DEN)
Sunday 8 September, 18:00 CEST

• the hosts have an impossible mission on their hands to recover from Bjerringbro-Silkeborg's 18-goal lead (45:27) from the first leg if they want to secure a return to the EHF European League's group stage after last featuring in 2022/23
• FTC reached the EHF European Cup's semi-finals last season, where they were eliminated by future runners-up Olympiacos SFP
• no player scored more than four goals for FTC in the first leg and they hope to display a much better performance in front of their own fans in Budapest
• Silkeborg reached the EHF European League's play-offs last season, where they were eliminated by Dinamo Bucuresti
• the Danish club recorded the biggest win (18 goals margin) and scored the most goals (45) in the first leg of the qualification round
• the winner of the tie will join Montpellier Handball (FRA), Górnik Zabrze (POL) and RK Trimo Trebnje (SLO)/Limoges Handball (FRA) in group B

Abanca Ademar Leon (ESP) vs ABC de BRAGA (POR)
Sunday 8 September, 20:00 CEST

• the Spanish club is undefeated on home court since November last year, when they lost to the reigning Machineseeker EHF Champions League winners Barça in Liga ASOBAL
• Ademar Leon are aiming to mount a comeback and secure a return to the EHF European League's group stage for the first time since 2020/21
• Carlos Álvarez Dominguez scored 10 goals for Ademar Leon in the first leg, while no other teammate scored more than four goals; if they are to mount a comeback, the young right wing will definitely need a helping hand from his teammates
• the visitors' away form is not one to be proud of, as their last win on the road dates back to February
• Braga are defending a two-goal lead (23:21) earned from the first leg, even though they held an eight-goal lead at one point during the match
• the winner of the tie will join GOG (DEN), RK Gorenje Velenje (SLO) and GC Amicitia Zürich (SUI)/HC Kriens-Luzern (SUI) in group A

Photos © Alibek Kaesler (main & Melsungen), RK Trimo Trebnje, Mors-Thy Håndbold