Away tests for Sporting and Berlin; Magdeburg fight for top spot

The two top teams of group A, Füchse Berlin and Sporting Clube de Portugal, have high away hurdles in the next round – the Portuguese champions play at Aalborg Håndbold, while Füchse travel to Industria Kielce. HBC Nantes hope for their first points of the season against Kolstad Håndball, while Dinamo Bucuresti are the underdogs against One Veszprém HC.

Group B sees its two leading teams, SC Magdeburg and Orlen Wisla Plock, battle out to see who can continue their winning streak after three rounds, while Barça will try to bounce back in the Match of the Week in Zagreb. OTP Bank - PICK Szeged and Paris Saint-Germain aim to remain on a high after their victories last week, facing each other on Thursday, while HC Eurofarm Pelister can confirm their good form as they host GOG.

GROUP A

Aalborg Håndbold (DEN) vs Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)

Wednesday 24 September, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
H2H: no previous encounters in European competitions

• despite making a strong comeback in the final stages, Aalborg Håndbold lost their last match at Füchse Berlin 31:28, after winning their opener 32:28 against Veszprém
• Sporting Clube de Portugal are one of two teams in group A with the optimum of four points after two rounds, most recently winning the goal fest against Kielce, 41:37
• with 18 goals after two matches, Francisco Costa (Sporting) is the third best scorer of the competition so far, while Aalborg’s best scorer is Thomas Arnoldsen with 11 strikes
• both sides were direct quarter-finalists last season after finishing second in their respective groups, but failed to proceed to Cologne
• it is the first ever duel between Aalborg and Sporting in an official match
• Aalborg won 35:29 at Skjern to lead the Danish league with a clean record, while Sporting won 39:24 at Braga to stay at the top of the Portuguese league

Dinamo Bucuresti (ROU) vs One Veszprém HC (HUN)

Wednesday 24 September, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
H2H: 1-1-6
Last match: Dinamo Bucuresti vs One Veszprém HC, 13 February 2025 (26:33 (13:18))

• Dinamo Bucuresti have lost both group matches this season, at home against Sporting (33:30) and in round two at Kolstad (31:28)
• after losing their opener at Aalborg (32:28), Veszprém took a well-fought 30:25 win against Nantes, backed by 18 saves from Rodrigo Corrales and 14 goals by the French duo Hugo Descat and Nedim Remili
• Dinamo’s only victory in the previous eight duels with Veszprém was a 31:29 on home ground in October 2021
• in the 2024/25 season, Veszprém won both encounters clearly – 36:24 at home and 33:26 in Bucharest
• Veszprém’s current top scorer Remili netted twice as many goals (14) as Dinamo’s best shooter Pedro Valdés (seven)
• in the national leagues, Dinamo won their domestic match 37:24 against CSM Constanta on Saturday, while Veszprém won 42:21 against PLER on the same day

HBC Nantes (FRA) vs Kolstad Håndball (NOR)

Wednesday 24 September, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
H2H: 1-0-1
Last match: Kolstad Håndbold vs HBC Nantes, 12 February 2025 (29:28 (18:11))

• Kolstad Håndbold took their first points of the season last week, beating Dinamo 31:28 at home after a clear opening defeat at Kielce (38:27)
• last season’s bronze medallists Nantes are still on zero points after their losses against the top sides Berlin (40:34) and Veszprém (30:25)
• Nantes and Kolstad met for the first time last season, and the two duels could not have had more different outcomes: Nantes won 44:27 on home ground, but then lost 29:28 in Trondheim after being led by seven goals (18:11) at half-time
• 14 different players have scored for Nantes in the first matches, topped by Julien Bos and Noam Leopold with eight goals each; Simon Jeppsson netted nine times for Kolstad
• Nantes took a 34:28 win against Istres in the French league, while Kolstad did not have a match in the Norwegian league in the past week, but won the Cup match against Bergsøy

Industria Kielce (POL) vs Füchse Berlin (GER)

Thursday 25 September, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV 
H2H: 1-1-2
Last match: Füchse Berlin vs Industria Kielce, 2 April 2025 (37:37 (21:24))

• despite scoring 37 goals at Lisbon, Industria Kielce lost their most recent group match against Sporting (41:37), after taking a clear opening win against Kolstad (38:27)
• Füchse Berlin top the group alongside Sporting after two wins: at Nantes (40:34) and against Aalborg (31:28)
• Mathias Gidsel (Berlin) is currently the second-best scorer of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2025/26 with 18 goals, while Szymon Sicko netted 13 times in two matches, including eight strikes at Lisbon
• the Polish side will have to perform without line player Artsem Karalek, who is suspended from the participation in EHF club competitions for one match, and therefore is not allowed to play against Berlin
• last season, this pairing was part of the play-offs – and Füchse proceeded to the quarter-finals thanks to a 33:27 away win, while the second leg in Germany ended in a draw (37:37)
• after changing the coach from Jaron Siewert to Nicolej Krickau, Berlin took their first win in the Bundesliga, beating Melsungen 30:24; Kielce did not have a match in the Polish league in the past week

GROUP B

HC Eurofarm Pelister (MKD) vs GOG (DEN)

Wednesday 24 September, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
H2H : 2-0-2
Last match: HC Eurofarm Pelister vs GOG, 16 February 2021 (32:31 (15:16))

• after two rounds, Pelister are sixth in the group with two points, while GOG are last with zero points
• last week, Pelister gave Paris a fierce resistance before losing 33:27, despite Nikola Mitrevski’s 10 saves
• GOG were defeated at home by Szeged in round 2 (36:31), with Nikolai Nygaard Pedersen scoring eight
• the two teams faced each other four times in European competitions, with each side winning twice
• Eurofarm’s Dejan Manaskov has scored 13 goals so far this season, while Nicolai Pedersen and Lasse Vilhelmsen are GOG’s best scorers with 10 goals each
• the two teams had different results in their last domestic league games: Pelister drew against Alkaloid (33:33) and GOG won against Grindsted (34:31)

OTP Bank - PICK Szeged (HUN) vs Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)

Thursday 25 September, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
H2H : 4-1-8
Last match: Paris Saint-Germain Handball vs OTP Bank - PICK Szeged, 3 April 2025, (25:35 (11:17))

• the two sides are currently level in the group with two points, but Szeged are third placed, while Paris are in fifth
• Szeged took their first points last Wednesday by winning at GOG (36:31), as Mario Sostaric scored 12 goals
• Paris also took the points last week at home against Pelister (33:27), thanks to Elohim Prandi who netted 11 times
• the two teams have faced each other 13 times in European competitions, with Szeged winning four times, Paris celebrating eight victories, while one game ended in a draw
• Szeged’s Mario Sostaric is the current best scorer of the competition with 21 goals, while Kamil Syprzak has scored 18 for Paris already
• Szeged did not have any domestic games on their schedule last weekend, but PSG won the French league duel against Nîmes (31:29)

MOTW: HC Zagreb (CRO) vs Barça (ESP)

Thursday 25 September, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
H2H : 1-1-25
Last match: Barça vs HC Zagreb, 5 December 2024 (38:30 (23:16))

• Barça are currently fourth in the group with two points, while Zagreb are seventh and have yet to take a point
• Zagreb lost their second game in a row last week in Plock (30:27), despite Ihar Bialauski scoring seven times
• Barça lost the MOTW in round 2 against SC Magdeburg, with Aleix Gómez being the top scorer for the Spanish side with seven goals
• Zagreb and Barça have played 27 times against each other in European competitions, but Zagreb managed to take only one win, in 2012, and one game finished in a draw
• the best scorers of the two teams have each netted 10 times so far: Filip Glavaš for Zagreb and Aleix Gómez for Barça
• last weekend, Zagreb beat Medjimurje (36:24) in the national league and Barça remained at the top of the Spanish championship after beating Valladolid (35:25)

STAT OF THE MATCH (by Julian Rux): With just 25 goals conceded per 50 possessions, Barça currently rank as the best defence of the competition. Their opponents in the MOTW, HC Zagreb, will have to improve significantly compared to their performance in the previous rounds if they want to have any chance against Barça’s excellent defence, as they currently have the second-worst attack with only 25.3 goals scored per 50 possessions.

SC Magdeburg (GER) vs Orlen Wisla Plock (POL)

Thursday 25 September, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
H2H : 7-1-1
Last match: SC Magdeburg vs Orlen Wisla Plock, 15 February 2024 (28:22 (13:14))

• both teams are currently sitting at the top of the group with four points each
• Magdeburg won for the first time in Barça last week (22:21), partly thanks to Sergey Hernandez’ 14 saves
• Plock secured a second straight win against Zagreb last Wednesday (30:27), as Mitja Janc scored six times
• Magdeburg and Plock faced each other nine times in European competitions, with Plock winning only once and one game ending in a draw
• Plock’s Melvyn Richardson has already scored 17 times this season, three more than Magdeburg’s Ómar Ingi Magnusson
• Magdeburg lost their first point in the Bundesliga last Saturday in Erlangen (31:31), while Plock remain undefeated in the Polish league after their win in Kwidzyn (37:26)

Photos © Eroll Popova (main), HBC Nantes & FCB (in-text)