Elsewhere, Vipers Kristiansand, the only side to boast three wins after the first three matches, travel to Germany to face Bietigheim, who have not lost a match for 19 months, while FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria will aim to bounce back from two consecutive losses when they meet Krim Mercator Ljubljana.
In group B, the focus is on the match between CS Rapid Bucuresti and Team Esbjerg, as the Romanian champions will have their mettle tested against a team that participated at the EHF FINAL4 2022.
GROUP A
MOTW: Odense Håndbold (DEN) vs CSM Bucuresti (ROU)
Sunday 9 October, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV
- CSM are one of the five teams still unbeaten in the competition, boasting two wins and a draw in their first three matches of the season, as they hold a three-point advantage over Odense
- if they do not lose on Sunday, CSM will record their best start in eight seasons in the EHF Champions League Women – going four matches unbeaten
- after only 114 games, the Romanian side need only 24 goals to become the 11th team in history to hit the 3,000-goal milestone, having scored an average of 26.33 goals per game
- the Danish side have never started Europe's top competition with three losses, and their game against CSM becomes vital for their future in the Champions League
- Odense head coach Ulrik Kirkely: "We have been in shortage of stability in our matches so far, but we are on our way and we continue to develop our play. The physique will be very important in the match on Sunday. We believe that we have the key to solve the challenge and the key to meet the qualities that CSM Bucuresti will bring to the match"
- Odense's goalkeepers, Martina Thörn and Althea Reinhardt, have the largest number of saves – 47 – and the best saving efficiency in the competition so far, 37 per cent
- the Romanian side have never met Odense and have had mixed results against Danish sides in away games, winning five games, drawing one and losing three
Krim Mercator Ljubljana (SLO) vs FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN)
Sunday 9 October, 14:00 CEST, live on EHFTV
- FTC have lost the past two games against Bietigheim and Brest and travel to Ljubljana trying to steer clear of their worst losing run in the competition, four games in a row, which has happened five times
- only HC Lokomotiva Zagreb, with 64 goals, have a worse attacking performance this season than FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria, who have scored 67 goals, 24 fewer than Krim
- Krim right wing Jovanka Radicevic needs only four goals to become the second player in the competition’s history after Anita Görbicz to hit the 1,000-goal milestone
- Krim head coach Dragan Adzic: "We know the recipe for winning, and I believe that if we will respect it and stick to it, we will win with a good game"
- the Slovenian champions can secure their first two-game winning streak in the EHF Champions League Women since October 2017
- the Hungarian side have never started a season with three losses, and they need a strong result against Krim to bounce back
SG BBM Bietigheim (GER) vs Vipers Kristiansand (NOR)
Sunday 9 October, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV
- Vipers are currently enjoying their best-ever start in the competition and are the only side to have taken three wins in their first three matches
- the reigning champions have won their last nine matches in a row – their longest winning streak in the Champions League
- provided they stay unbeaten in this match, Bietigheim will set their longest unbeaten run in Europe's top competition – four matches in a row
- Bietigheim have the best attack in the competition, with 114 goals scored, and the best defence, with 71 goals conceded, one fewer than Vipers, as the top two defences clash in this match
- the German side are still eyeing their 10th win in the competition, after starting the season with only seven wins in 40 games, but are still on a 59-game unbeaten run in all competitions, dating back to March 2021
Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA) vs DHK Banik Most (CZE)
Sunday 9 October, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV
- having conceded 129 goals in their first three games of the season, Most have posted the worst defensive performance in the history of the EHF Champions League Women at this stage
- Most's only win in nine matches in the EHF Champions League Women came against Krim (31:29) in the 2019/20 group phase
- Most team captain Lucia Mikulčík: "Even if we have lost all our three matches, I can see progress in our performance. Champions League is for our very young team like a high school of handball, and from every match we are learning a lot"
- the Czech side are experiencing their worst streak in the history of the competition after six consecutive losses
- Brest need only 38 goals to become only the 19th team in the competition to score 2,000 goals
- the French side have lost only two of their last 25 home matches, with one of the losses coming this season, against CSM Bucuresti
A match in which you play against the best players in the world is a big challenge for us. You have to be aggressive against them in defence. They will pass through you if you are too soft, and if you don't go back on defence quickly, they will run past you. You must combine all the handball game segments to play well against them.
A difficult game awaits us with a very good team, but we are positive because we have prepared for this match and we want to play as well as possible. We are waiting for as many supporters in the stands as possible to support us and I hope that at the end we will have a lot of reasons to be happy together.
