Race to quarter-finals gets exciting finish

Last week’s first leg presented fans across the continent with four interesting clashes. All teams meet again for the reverse fixture this weekend.

Team Esbjerg defend a three-goal advantage over Brest Bretagne Handball in the Match of the Week on Sunday.

FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria and Odense Håndbold also start their home matches – against WHC Buducnost BEMAX and Storhamar Håndball Elite, respectively – after winning the away leg.

However, CS Rapid Bucuresti chase a five-goal deficit against Krim Mercator Ljubljana after losing the first leg in Slovenia.

PLAY-OFFS, SECOND LEG

FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) vs WHC Buducnost BEMAX (MNE) – first leg 28:24
Saturday 25 March, 16:00 CET, live on EHFTV

• FTC earned a hard-fought win in the first leg, led by right wing Angela Malestein and goalkeeper Blanka Bíró
• Buducnost goalkeeper Armelle Attingré had 16 saves (37%) in the first leg and team captain Milena Raicevic scored nine times
• FTC eye their 10th quarter-final appearance, but the first since 2018/19; Buducnost played in 17 quarter-finals in 27 seasons
• FTC's Katrin Klujber is the third-best top scorer in the competition with 96 goals; Milena Raicevic lead for Buducnost with 82
• FTC head coach Gábor Elek: "We got a good result in the first leg, but that cannot make us feel comfortable. We want to beat Buducnost at home, our fantastic fans also deserve to enjoy a winning match."
• FTC easily won their midweek domestic game: 40:20 against NEKA
• the winners of this tie will play Metz in the quarter-finals

Odense Håndbold (DEN) vs Storhamar Håndball Elite (NOR) – first leg 30:22
Saturday 25 March, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV

• Odense secured the biggest win in the first leg – by eight goals – to close in on what would be the club’s second quarter-final berth
• Odense would meet Györ in the quarter-finals – just like in their only previous appearance at this stage, in 2018/19
• Storhamar won two away matches in the group phase, but not against any team that progressed to the knockout phase
• the Norwegian side score the fewest number of goals per match from all teams left in the competition: 26.5
• however, only three teams conceded fewer goals per match than Odense: 26.3
• Odense suffered a big 30:19 loss to Esbjerg Wednesday in the last game of the regular season in Denmark and lost the top position to them

MOTW: Team Esbjerg (DEN) vs Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA) – first leg 28:25
Sunday 26 March, 14:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• both goalkeepers were dominant in the first leg, with Anna Kristensen stopping 18 shots for Esbjerg while Julie Foggea had 14 saves for Brest
• last week was the first time Esbjerg beat Brest in their five meetings so far
• Brest eye progression to the quarter-finals for the fourth straight time
• a victory would be Esbjerg’s 40th win in the competition and would send them through to the quarter-finals for the third time
• Esbjerg’s Henny Reistad tops the goal scorer standings, with 115 goals, an average of 7.6 per game
• Esbjerg lost only once at home this season, in the first round of the group phase against Györ
• Esbjerg boosted their confidence with a 30:19 win over Odense on Wednesday; Brest had no match in the French league
• Esbjerg right back Nora Mørk: "The job is far from done. At the moment we are in a good flow with many wins and we want to keep that momentum on Sunday."
• the winners of this tie will play CSM in the quarter-finals

CS Rapid Bucuresti (ROU) vs Krim Mercator Ljubljana (SLO)– first leg 24:29
Sunday, 26 March, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• Rapid have not lost a home game so far in their debut season in the EHF Champions League, winning six times and securing one draw
• this is Krim’s 300th match in the EHF Champions League; only fellow play-off contenders Buducnost have played more games: 317
• two years ago, Krim also won the first leg of the play-offs by five goals (25:20 against CSKA) but still went out after losing the second leg by six goals (27:21)
• Krim's Nina Žabjek: "We will start from the first minute just like we played the second half in Ljubljana: we will be ready for a tough fight and we will improve both attack and defence. Peace of mind is the most important thing, we are focused on winning and playing even better."
• Krim right wing Jovanka Radicevic is her team’s top scorer and the fifth best scorer of the season with 87 goals; she has a record 1,065 career goals in Europe’s top flight
• Krim have never won an away match in Romania, drawing only once and losing 12 times in 13 matches so far