Decisive games ahead in round 5

GROUP A

Molde Elite (NOR) vs BV Borussia 09 Dortmund (GER)
Saturday 11 February, 16.00 CET, live on EHFTV

• Molde are going for their first win in the group phase; they are out of contention for the quarter-finals
• in the reverse fixture in round 1, Dortmund won 33:32
• a win would see Dortmund progress to the quarter-finals
• Dortmund player Frida Rønning: "I’m very much looking forward to play in my home country in front of my family and friends. It will be special for me, it will be great. I expect a tough match, but obviously we want to win and qualify for the quarter-finals."
• Norwegian back Mona Obaidli is the current top scorer for Molde with 24 goals while Dortmund’s captain and centre back Alina Grijseels is their top scorer with 18 goals
• Molde have conceded 136 goals in four games, the most of any team in the group phase
• Molde coach Tor Odvar Moen: "Our chance to advance is gone, but we will use our two last matches to gain some very valuable international experience. We want to play in Europe every year."

Siófok KC (HUN) vs ES Besancon Feminin (FRA)
Saturday 11 February, 20.00 CET, live on EHFTV

• both Siófok and Besancon still have the chance to proceed to the quarter-finals of the EHF European League; however a loss for Besancon this week would put them out of contention
• in round 1 Besancon beat Siófok 30:21 at home
• last week, Siófok won away against Molde (32:29) and Besancon were beaten by hosts Dortmund (21:31)
• Siófok coach Uros Bregar: "In the first round against Besancon they were the better team, for sure. Since then a lot has happened in the group and now we have the possibility to go through with a victory. We will do everything to have a good result in our home."
• Siófok’s top scorer is right back Nikoletta Papp, who has scored 23 goals in four games; right wing Sabrina Zazai has netted 20 for Besancon
• while Siófok had no domestic matches this week, Besancon lost at home to Dijon 30:35 in the French league
• Besancon left back Nada Corovic: "Siófok are a quality team with a lot of good players. We expect a tough game, both mentally and physically. They will have the support of their fans, but everything depends on us, we came here to win and take two points."

GROUP B

Neptunes de Nantes (FRA) vs Ikast Håndbold (DEN)
Sunday 12 February, 18.00 CET, live on EHFTV

• in the first round Nantes and Ikast met each other on Danish ground. Ikast won 30:20 and took the first two points in the group
• Ikast remain undefeated and have already booked their quarter-final ticket; a win for Nantes in this round could be important ahead of their round 6 game with Mosonmagyarovar
• last week both sides took victories – Ikast beating Mosonmagyarovar 28:26 and Nantes defeating Fana 29:21
• Nantes right wing Nathalie Hagman is the joint third top scorer in the competition with 29 goals to date
• domestically Nantes beat Merignac 29:18 on Wednesday, while Ikast defeated Horsens 32:20

Fana (NOR) vs Motherson Mosonmagyarovari KC (HUN)
Sunday 12 February, 18.00 CET, live on EHFTV

• both Fana and Mosonmagyarovar have two points at the moment and need a win to keep their quarter-final hopes alive
• the first game between the two teams ended with a clear win for the Hungarian side (35:29)
• Motherson have the sixth best attack of the European League group phase, with 116 goals in four games or 29 per match
• Fana coach Erlend Lyssand: "To reach the quarter-finals, we need to win at home on Sunday. We are determined to do so and we hope for a great support from our fans."
• the two teams have both conceded 127 goals so far (31.8 per game), making them jointly the second-weakest defence in the competition
• last week Fana beat Aker 24:20 in an away game in the Norwegian league, while Mosonmagyarovar drew 22:22 with EHF Champions League side FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria in the Hungarian league

GROUP C

Nykøbing Falster Håndbold (DEN) vs DVSC Schaeffler (HUN)
Saturday 11 February, 16.00 CET, live on EHFTV

• the first game between Schaeffler and Nykøbing was a blast with Schaeffler winning 28:27
• a win would keep Nykøbing’s hopes of the quarter-finals alive; if Schaeffler win, they are through
• in round 4 both teams took important points with the Danish club winning 29:24 against Podravka and the Hungarian side beating Sola 25:21
• NFH coach Jakob Larsen: "We need to loosen up and go for it. In the defense, we need to go a little further forward to their shooters and be more compact. In attack, we need to be more direct, both on the counterattack and in the ordinary attacking game."
• Nykøbing have been more effective so far with a scoring efficiency of 60.4 per cent compared to DVSC’s 56.5 per cent
• the Danish club lost a league match this week 23:25 away to Aarhus, while DVSC have not had domestic competition 

HC Podravka Vegeta (CRO) vs Sola HK (NOR)
Sunday 12 February, 14.00 CET, live on EHFTV

• while the chance to go to the quarter-finals is over for Podravka, Sola are joint top of the group and will progress if they win on Sunday
• Podravka remain without a group phase win, with their defeats including the 29:35 loss to Sola in Norway in round 1
• the Croatian team have scored just 96 goals in the group phase, the lowest in the competition
• Sola lost their first game last week, falling 21:25 to DVSC Schaeffler in Debrecen
• Sola goalkeeper Rinka Duijndam leads the goalkeeper standings with 56 saves from 149 shots so far – her efficiency of 37.6 per cent is also the highest

GROUP D

SCM Ramnicu Valcea (ROU) vs Paris 92 (FRA)
Saturday 11 February, 18.00 CET, live on EHFTV

• both teams still have the chance to qualify for the quarter-finals
• the first game between the two sides in round 2 was a close one, with Paris winning 24:22 at home
• Valcea line player Asma Elghaoui sits third in the overall top scorer rankings with 29 goals so far and a huge 82.9 per cent efficiency; her teammate, left back Iryna Glibko, is fifth with 28 goals
• the last round for both teams was a rollercoaster: Paris beat Praktiker-Vác 26:24, while Valcea drew 32:32 with Thüringer at home
• while Valcea have the third-best attack of the competition, scoring 125 goals so far, Paris are the second-weakest attack with just 100 goals in four games

Thüringer HC (GER) vs Praktiker-Vác (HUN)
Sunday 12 February, 14.00 CET, live on EHFTV

• Thüringer lead the group with 7 points and have already booked their quarter-final spot
• Praktiker-Vác are currently fourth with 2 points – but would still have hopes of progression if they can beat Thüringer this week
• the German club won 34:28 in the reverse fixture in Hungary in round 2
• Thüringer have the best attack in the competition, netting 132 goals in four games (33 per match) with a 63.2 per cent efficiency
• the overall top scorer in the group phase so far is Vác centre back Csenge Kuczora, who has scored 36 goals; Thüringer left back Annika Lott is second with 31 goals

Photos © Yoan Jeudy Sosuite, Ikast Håndbold, DVSC Schaeffler, Paris 92