Several teams are entering the second leg as big favourites after securing impressive away wins in the first leg, most notably former EHF Cup champions Siófok KC, who boast a nine-goal lead against MKS FunFloor Lublin.
- two ties will be decided in a double-header this weekend: Norwegian side Fana host Swiss team SPONO Eagles, and European Cup champions Rocasa Gran Canaria host Serbian side ZRK Bjelovar
- a single home team snatched a win last week, SCM Gloria Buzau: a narrow 32:31 against Costa del Sol Malaga; however, the Romanian team will come in a red-hot form as domestic league leaders with six wins from six matches
- Thüringer HC and VfL Oldenburg, who secured away wins in the first leg, could join fellow German teams BV Borussia 09 Dortmund and Buxtehuder SV in the next round; no other nation has more teams in qualification round 3
- ZRK Zeleznicar – Indjija’s left back Dunja Tabak scored the most goals in the first leg, 13, as her side racked up the largest amount of goals in a single game: 35
- one team has already advanced from qualification round 2: Swiss side LC Brühl eliminated Czech team DHC Plzen by winning last weekend’s double-header 58:52 on aggregate
Teams get ready for crunch time
Denmark’s Ikast Håndbold, Hungary’s DVSC Schaeffler, France’s Paris 92, and Norway’s Molde Elite will start their EHF European League in the group phase. The quest for the remaining 12 spots is open.
As previously proven by Les Neptunes des Nantes in the women’s competition and SL Benfica in the men’s event, a team can win the trophy even if they started from the first qualification round.
There are surely sides which can be dark horses, like Siófok KC, who are boasting a nine-goal lead ahead of the second leg against MKS FunFloor Lublin, or SCM Gloria Buzau, who are trying for the third year in a row to progress to the group phase, with a strong and well-balanced side that need to take care of Costa del Sol Malaga after a one-goal win in the first leg.
EHF European League Women 2022/23 qualification round 2
Saturday 15 October:
14:00 CEST: SPONO Eagles (SUI) vs Fana (NOR) – match played in Norway
18:00 CEST: Siófok KC (HUN) vs MKS FunFloor Lublin (POL) – first leg 27:18
18:00 CEST: Costa del Sol Malaga (ESP) vs SCM Gloria Buzau (ROU) – first leg 31:32
19:00 CEST: Rocasa Gran Canaria (ESP) vs ZRK Bjelovar (SRB)
Sunday 16 October:
13:30 CEST: ZRK Bjelovar (SRB) vs Rocasa Gran Canaria (ESP) – match played in Spain
14:00 CEST: Thüringer HC (GER) vs Chambray Touraine Handball (FRA) – first leg, 31:28
16:30 CEST: VfL Oldenburg (GER) vs Hypo Niederösterreich (AUT) – first leg 33:26
17:00 CEST: Fana (NOR) vs SPONO Eagles (SUI)
18:00 CEST: Nykøbing Falster Håndbold (DEN) vs Yalikavaksport Club (TUR) – first leg 29:21
19:00 CEST: ZRK Zeleznicar – Indjija (SRB) vs HC Dalmatinka Ploce (CRO) – first leg 32:25