Tension builds ahead of high-octane clashes in round 2

EHF / Kevin Domas

16 September 2024, 11:00

Fans witnessed exciting confrontations in round 1 and it seems like we can expect the same this week. After featuring in the opening round’s Match of the Week, Nantes are again part of the party, celebrating the arrival of Kielce in round 2. The Polish side and Aalborg are current leaders of group B, but the latter face a tough away trip to Zagreb. Titleholders Barça, on the other hand, will be playing home against Szeged.

Yahia Omar’s return to his former club Veszprém with his new teammates from Paris highlights the round 2 matches of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League in group A – it is the only duel between two winners in the opening match day in that group. Two more Spanish coaches – like in the top duel – lock horns in Plock, while Berlin travel to Bitola and Fredericia have their EHF Champions League debut on home ground.

We play against a team that has strengthened a lot. They have three or four players with a lot of qualities in certain positions this season. They are very strong and fast. It's our first home match and we have to fill the ORLEN Arena to make our hall a fortress that is difficult to conquer and to make our fans help us achieve victories.

Xavier Sabate

Head coach, Orlen Wisla Plock

HC Eurofarm Pelister (MKD) vs Füchse Berlin (GER)
Wednesday 18 September, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV

two losers of the first round lock horns in Bitola: Eurofarm Pelister gave PSG a big fight, but lost 31:29, while Berlin missed the last chance to level the result against Veszprém and lost 32:31
Füchse super-star Mathias Gidsel netted 10 goals against Veszprém, while Filip Kuzmanovski was Eurofarm’s top scorer of the first round with eight strikes
it is the first ever match between the two clubs in international competitions
several Eurofarm Pelister players have played for German clubs before, such as Dejan Manaskov, Filip Kuzmanovski, Ilija Abutotovic and Filip Ivic
in the German league Füchse won 37:32 against Leipzig on Sunday night, while Eurofarm Pelister beat Struga 37:20 to top the Macedonian league after three rounds

Veszprém HC (HUN) vs Paris Saint-Germain Handball (FRA)
Thursday 19 September, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV

Veszprém HC (32:31 at Berlin) and Paris Saint-Germain Handball (31:29 against Eurofarm Pelister) started their 2024/25 campaign victorious
both sides could count on the respective top scorers of the first match day: Nedim Remili (Veszprém) and Kamil Syprzak (PSG) scored 11 times each
like in Plock, two prolific Spanish coaches duel at Lake Balaton, both EHF Champions League winners as coaches: Xavi Pascual (new Veszprém coach) steered Barça to three trophies, while Raul Gonzalez (PSG) won the title with Vardar
one player will be in the focus: Egyptian Yahia Omar, who played for Veszprém for five years, transferred to Paris this summer – and will duel his former club for the first time
Veszprém count on three French players: Nedim Remili, who played for PSG before, Ludovic Fabregas and Hugo Descat, all of them were EHF EURO 2024 champions alongside PSG’s French internationals Luka Karabatic and Elohim Prandi
the overall balance of both sides is almost equal: Paris won eight times, Veszprém seven times, one match ended in a draw – in the 2022/23 season, each side won their home match
both sides won their domestic matches on Sunday night: Veszprém 38:28 against Balatonfüred, PSG 30:29 against Limoges

Fredericia Håndbold Klub (DEN) vs Sporting CP (POR)
Thursday 19 September, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV

Fredericia Håndbold Klub played their first ever EHF Champions League match last week, losing 37:28 at Bucharest, while Sporting ended their five-year absence in the top-flight competition with a clear 34:29 win against Plock
in their first ever EHF Champions League match, the Costa brothers Martim and Francisco stood out for Sporting with 10 and six goals, respectively, while Sebastian Henneberg netted eight times for the Danish runners-up
the two sides have never met in any international competition before
Fredericia won 29:28 against Skjern and took their first points of the season in the Danish league, while Sporting beat Avanca 39:21 to top the Portuguese league

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I think the boys played really well last week against Nantes, especially in the second half. They really found each other and played some good handball. I really feel that our team has a lot more to offer and I can really see how we learn more and more about each other for every game. As a new coach I have high expectations, but if we play like last week we can beat Zagreb and use our width.

Maik Machulla

Head coach, Aalborg Håndbold

MOTW: HBC Nantes (FRA) vs Industria Kielce (POL)
Wednesday 18 September, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV

after round 1, Nantes are bottom of the group with no points, while Kielce are leaders with two
the teams had different fates last week: Kielce won by seven against Zagreb (30:23), while Nantes lost by seven in Aalborg (38:31)
Valero Rivera scored seven times so far for Nantes, while Igor Karacic netted five times for Kielce
three players moved from one club to the other in the summer: Nicolas Tournat came back to Nantes after four seasons in Kielce, while Jorge Maqueda and Théo Monar moved to the Polish side
Nantes only managed to win against Kielce once in the EHF Champions League – in the 2021 play-offs; Kielce won the other three confrontations
last weekend, both teams took the points in their domestic confrontations: Nantes against Istres (43:31) and Kielce in Zabrze (36:28)

SC Magdeburg (GER) vs Kolstad Håndbold (NOR)
Thursday 19 September, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV

both clubs were defeated in round 1 last week: Magdeburg in Szeged (31:29) and Kolstad by Barça (35:30)
as a consequence, both teams are currently level in the group, with zero points
two players scored six goals for Kolstad in round 1 – Erlend Johnsen and Magnus Søndenå, while Ómar Ingi Magnusson netted five times for Magdeburg
Spanish centre-back Antonio Serradilla Cuenca played in the Norwegian league last season before transferring from Elverum to Magdeburg in the summer
the two teams have never played against each other in European competitions
Magdeburg won their Bundesliga game in Hamburg on Sunday (32:26), while Kolstad took the points in the Norwegian league against Arendal (40:32)

Barça (ESP) vs OTP Bank - PICK Szeged (HUN)
Thursday 19 September, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV

Barça took the points in round 1 in Kolstad (35:30), while Szeged stunned by beating Magdeburg (31:29)
both clubs have two points each, Barça only leading Szeged in the group’s standings by three goals
one player from each team scored seven times: Dika Mem for Barça and Mario Sostaric for Szeged
four Swedish players will face each other on the court – Hampus Wanne and Jonathan Carlsbogard for Barça, Tobias Thulin and William Bogojevic for Szeged
the two clubs played 22 times against each other in European competitions; Szeged only won five times, the last one in 2019, while Barça took the other 17 confrontations
Barça defeated Huesca (39:30) over the weekend, while Szeged beat Dabas (38:29)