Thrilling matches await in round 4 as MOTW travels to Germany
FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria and Krim Mercator Ljubljana aim to keep their record clean with the help of the home advantage. Metz Handball and CSM Bucuresti welcome the bottom two teams – Podravka Vegeta and Nykøbing Falster Håndbold – who are still dreaming of their first wins of the season.
In group B, Györ and Brest will look to extend their winning streaks against Buducnost and Ludwigsburg, respectively, as the French side takes on the runners-up of the previous season in the Match of the Week.
I am really happy because we won our three matches until now, but our performance was not the best yet. We would like to improve, because our goal is to win every match. I expect a tough match against Bistrita, they played very well in the first two rounds, so we need to be well prepared to beat them. I am sure, after the national team week we will continue the work with full power, we want to keep our series.
We want to play as well as possible on the field of one of the strongest teams in this EHF Champions League season. Every match is a good opportunity for us to gain experience and progress, our team being in the first season of the EHF Champions League.
It's the return of the Champions League at home after a short break due to international matches. In front of our fans, we'll be aiming to play some quality handball, take the points if possible and keep moving forward.
We certainly want to continue in the direction we set out in the first three European games. There is no secret against Storhamar. We will have to run a lot (just like against Gloria) and stick to our agreement. It is one of the key games, so the support from the stands will play an important role.
It will be exciting to play against Krim Mercator Ljubljana, this is clearly one of the most experienced teams in the Champions League, they have always been number one in Slovenia, so Krim oozes good culture and experience. We face a team with many good handball players and a solid team. They know what it takes to perform at this level every single round. So this will probably be a very tough and instructive match for us.
We're facing a tough team. They have international players everywhere and we know what they are capable of. For me, our job is the most important, though. It's what I say every week. If we focus on ourselves and do our best, we can beat anyone.
We know that it will be a though match. Esbjerg are a good team who play very good handball. We have to pay a lot of attention to their key players because they are very determined, like Reistad for example. However, we want to win points and for sure we are going to Denmark full of energy and ambition. We want to come back to Bucharest with points, so we have to be focused the whole match and show our best version during those 60 minutes.
On Sunday, we face a challenging match against Brest. They have a strong team that plays with a lot of pace and finesse. I expect an intense duel, with both teams showcasing high speed. We are very much looking forward to this exciting encounter, especially after our important win against Rapid. Our goal is to reaffirm our performance this weekend.
It's always hard to play against Buducnost in Montenegro, they have a really good home field with a lot of fighting spirit. So we really need to fight the whole game if we should have the two points with us home to Györ.