MOTW: CSM want to turn the tide against Esbjerg

The group phase of the DELO EHF Champions League 2020/21 is approaching its final stretch with a round 13 schedule full of important duels this weekend.

The Match of the Week is taking place in Romania, where CSM Bucuresti will host Team Esbjerg on Saturday 6 February at 16:00 CET (live on EHFTV).

The MOTW coverage sees the game day begin with the Breakfast for Champions series on the EHF Champions League Instagram page. During the day, fans will be able to enjoy exclusive coverage across all EHF Champions League social media channels as well as the live blog on eurohandball.com.

CSM’s mission against Esbjerg is anything but easy

CSM are still in the running for one of the top two spots in group A, and direct access to the quarter-final, but would need a win over Esbjerg to keep those hopes alive.

The 2016 Champions League winners have 11 points from 10 matches. However, the team from head coach Adrian Vasile have not won a home match since mid-October.

They recorded a draw with RK Krim Mercator and suffered clear defeats to Rostov-Don and Vipers Kristiansand - two main rivals for the top positions in the group.

CSM are eager to end that series when they host sixth-ranked Esbjerg on Saturday.

The mission, however, is anything but easy.

CSM narrowly won the reverse fixture in Denmark 30:29 thanks to a 10-goal outing from Cristina Neagu, but Esbjerg have only become stronger since.

The Danish side recovered from four straight defeats - their longest losing run ever in the competition - and head coach Jesper Jensen’s team are now unbeaten in 2021, with a draw at Vipers followed by clear wins over FTC and Krim.

Another win in MOTW on Saturday would see Esbjerg close the gap to CSM to a single point.