60 minutes for five spots in the group matches

In the first leg, three teams secured away wins and now look favourites when they host their opponents on their home court, while Pfadi Winterthur and ABC de Braga have two-goal deficits to come back from in the 60 minutes of the second game.

QUALIFICATION LEG 2

Fraikin BM. Granollers (ESP) vs CSM Constanta (ROU) – first leg: 29:27
Saturday, 2 September, 12:10 CEST, live on EHFTV

• last season’s finalists, Granollers, have secured a 29:27 win in the first leg, and are only 60 minutes away of making the group phase for the second season in a row
• Constanta will be aiming to make their comeback to the group phase of a European competition for the first time since the 2018/19 season, when they were in the Men’s EHF Cup
• in the last three seasons, Constanta were eliminated in the Qualification Phase of the EHF European League Men, conceding away losses against Chambery Savoie Mont Blanc HB (23:27), Orlen Wisla Plock (14:25) and Sporting CP (21:22)
• the winners will go into Group H, alongside Sporting CP, Chrobry Głogów and MOL-Tatabanya KC
• Constanta, a team which prides itself on its defence, has lost two out of the four competitive matches they played this season in all competitions, but those losses came by very narrow margins, a one-goal loss against Dinamo Bucuresti in the Romanian Supercup and the two-goal defeat against Granollers

"Recken"-TSV Hannover-Burgdorf (GER) vs Ystads IF HF (SWE) – first leg: 33:28
Saturday, 2 September, 18:30 CEST, live on EHFTV

• the German side have only twice played in the group phase of a European competition in their history, in the 2013/14 and the 2018/19 seasons of the Men’s EHF Cup
• the right flank of Hannover’s attack worked wonders in the first leg, won by the German side, 33:28, with back Renars Uscins scoring nine goals and wing Marius Steinhauser adding eight
• Germany will have four sides in the group phase of the EHF European League Men, if both Hannover and Rhein-Neckar Löwen progress, with reigning champions Füchse Berlin and SG Flensburg-Handewitt directly qualified
• Ystad’s veteran, Kim Andersson, is out of the game, due to an injury which required surgery
• in the previous season of the EHF European League Men, when they reached the Round of 16, Ystad won three games and lost three away from home, but none were by the five-goal margin needed to stand a chance in this doubleheader

ABC de Braga (POR) vs RK Trimo Trebnje (SLO) – first leg: 29:31
Saturday, 2 September, 18:30 CEST, live on EHFTV

• RK Trimo Trebnje need to protect a two-goal lead taken in the first leg, 31:29, to secure their first-ever participation in the group phase of a European competition
• backs Davide Bulzamini and Lovro Viscek have been Trebnje’s top scorers in the first leg, combining for 13 goals
• last season, in the Portuguese league, Braga finished in the fourth place, but lost five of the 13 matches they played on their home court
• Trebnje mounted a huge comeback in the second half of the first leg, where they cancelled Braga’s lead, despite missing all the three penalties they had
• the winners will head to Group D, where they will face Croatian side RK Nexe, Slovakian side MŠK Považská Bystrica and Skjern Handbold

Rhein-Neckar Löwen (GER) vs HC Vardar 1961 (MKD) – first leg: 34:25
Sunday, 3 September, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• German Cup winners Löwen are aiming to return to the group phase of a European competition for the first time in three seasons, after reaching the inaugural EHF Finals in the 2020/21 season
• Vardar’s bid to return to the group phase of a European competition was derailed in the first leg, conceding the largest loss of the five qualification matches, with a meagre 33% attacking efficiency displayed
• the hosts will still be without left wing and talisman Uwe Gensheimer, who is injured, but 19-year-old left wing David Móré had an excellent game for Löwen, with six goals in the first leg
• goalkeeper Mikael Appelgren had a monster game in the first leg for Löwen, saving 17 shots for a 35% saving efficiency, frustrating Vardar’s attack
• Löwen’s last loss by nine goals or more in all competitions came against Erlangen, 26:36, in December 2021, nearly two years ago

Pfadi Winterthur (SUI) vs Aguas Santas Milaneza (POR) – first leg: 22:24
Sunday, 3 September, 17:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• Pfadi are aiming to return to the group phase of the EHF European League Men, after a one-season hiatus, having featured in the EHF European Cup Men last season, where they were eliminated in qualification round 2 by AS SGS Ramhat Hashron
• the Portuguese side has won only one of their last 10 away matches played in European competitions, against fellow Portuguese side, Belenenses, in the qualification round 2 last season
• Aguas Santas featured in the group phase of the EHF European League last season, where they won a single game, drew two others and lost seven, failing to make the cut for the round of 16
• left wing Noam Leopold and left back Tim Rellstab were Pfadi’s top scorers in the first leg, combining for 12 goals
• the winners will head to Group C, where they will face Spanish side REBI Balonmano Cuenca, Slovenian side RK Gorenje Velenje and Sweden's IK Sävehof