Bumper weekend of matches for EHF European Cup Men

UPDATE, 10 OCTOBER, 16:30 hrs CEST: The European Handball Federation decided on Friday to move the match between HC Izvidac (BIH) and KH Besa Famgas (KOS) from Saturday, 11 October to Sunday, 12 October. The change in throw-off became necessary as the visa process for KH Besa Famgas and subsequently their travel schedule was delayed. The match's new throw-off time on 12 October is 17:00 hrs.

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Action starts on Friday 10 October in Luxembourg, where HB Dudelange host Kosovan club KH Rahoveci at 20:00 CEST to throw off the first leg of their double-header. They will meet again on Saturday at 20:30 CEST.

• 64 teams from 30 countries enter round 2; Bosnia & Herzegovina is represented by five clubs, more than any other nation; Italy, Greece and Austria have four participants each
• SKKP Handball Brno (against Pallamano Conversano) and GRK Ohrid (against HC Baki) play both legs on home soil this weekend in Czechia and North Macedonia, respectively
• Teamnetwork Albatro Siracusa and Olympiacos SFP play their double-header in Greece on Saturday and Monday
• last season’s semi-finalists HC Izvidac and Runar Sandefjord enter the competition this weekend; the Bosnian side will face KH Besa Famgas on Saturday at home, while the Norwegian club travel to Estonia to face Viljandi HC on Sunday
• three former winners of the competition start their tilt at another title in round 2: HC Vojvodina, Nærbø IL and Diomidis Argous
• 20 teams join the action in 10 double-headers next weekend

Austrian derby promises excitement

Derbies in a European competition are always special. In this round, everyone is looking closely at Austria, as Förthof UHK Krems and HC Fivers WAT Margareten meet in round 2 (Saturday 11 October, 19:00 CEST).

Although the head-to-head between the two sides favours Krems with seven wins in the last 10 matches, a closer look at the results reveals that this is far from a decided outcome.

Four of the last five matches ended with a goal difference of three goals or less. Margareten won the first two, Krems the last three. Margareten’s last away win came in the Austrian Cup in March 2023. They have the chance to repeat this on Saturday, before hosting the second leg seven days later.

Photos © Balatonfüredi KSE, Thomas Bobens