First main round tickets up for grabs in round 4

First main round tickets up for grabs in round 4

EHF / Sergey Nikolaev
28 October 2024, 14:00

The EHF European League Men group matches are entering their crucial phase, and already in round 4 on Tuesday, some teams may secure progression to the main round. All four German participants still boast a perfect record, just like the French side Montpellier Handball and Sport Lisboa e Benfica from Portugal, so those six teams have the best chance of grabbing an early ticket to the next stage. 

TOP 5 MATCHES

GROUP B

Bjerringbro-Silkeborg (DEN) vs Fraikin Bm. Granollers (ESP)

Tuesday 29 October, 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV

  • after three matches, Granollers take the second position in the group with four points, while Bjerringbro are third with two points
  • in their reverse fixture last Tuesday, eight goals from Ivan Montoya lifted the Spanish side to a 36:27 home victory
  • in was the third encounter between the two sides in the European club competitions; Granollers now have two wins, and Bjerringbro one
  • in case of another victory in round 4, Granollers are likely to secure their main round spot, while their Danish rivals may lose the chance to progress
  • both rivals started the EHF European League season in the qualification round, in which Bjerringbro proved too strong for the Hungarian side FTC-Green Collect, and Granollers eliminated Sweden's IFK Kristianstad
  • left back Nikolaj Læsø is Bjerringbro's best scorer in the competition, but he scored 22 of his 27 goals in qualification; Granollers' top scorer Antonio Garcia Robledo scored 16 of his 32 goals in qualification

 

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20241015 Bjerringbro Silkeborg Gornik Zabrze 12
We need to play 60 minutes focused, not just 40 minutes. And we should do everything we can to try to be the best of the two teams based on the two matches.
Morten Olsen
Centre back, Bjerringbro-Silkeborg

GROUP C    

Kadetten Schaffhausen (SUI) vs Limoges Handball (FRA)

Tuesday 29 October, 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV

  • last Tuesday, a strong second-half comeback powered Kadetten Schaffhausen to a 31:27 away win at Limoges Handball
  • it was the first meeting of the two teams in the European club competitions
  • the Swiss team lie second in the group, with a tally of four points, and they may seal an early main round spot with a win on Tuesday
  • Limoges, who are playing in their debut European season, are third with two points, and they will need to grab some points in Schaffhausen to stay in the fight for a main round berth
  • Icelandic right wing Odinn Thor Rikhardsson, the top scorer of the 2022/23 EHF European League Men, is now Schaffhausen's leading scorer with 17 goals
  • Ukrainian left back Ihor Turchenko is Limoges' best scorer with 22 goals   

 

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DSC 2815
The first half we did a good job, now we are looking forward to the second half at home. We expect a very tough game because Limoges is a very good team. We will prepare the 1:1 situations well. Our goal is to win again two points, this means a lot for us in the current situation. The game against Limoges is very important for us!"
Hrvoje Horvat
Head coach, Kadetten Schaffhausen
DSC 2577
This is our last chance to try and stay in the hunt for qualification. The stakes are very high: if we lose, we'll have used up our last joker and it will be very complicated to qualify.

Last week we played a very good game until the 40th minute and then we finished very badly. They caused us problems with a very aggressive defence and they were very effective in the final moments of the game. If we can repeat the performance of the first leg with more consistency on our side, we'll have what it takes to win there."
Alberto Entrerrios
Head coach, Limoges Handball
OAI 9161

GROUP D

Bidasoa Irun (ESP) vs CSM Constanta (ROU)

Tuesday 29 October, 20:45 CET, live on EHFTV

  • all four teams are level on three points in the very close Group D, but Constanta and Bidasoa are ranked first and second respectively on goal difference
  • in round 3, Constanta won the first head-to-head encounter in the European club competitions on their home court, 35:30
  • with 15 goals, right wing Inaki Cavero is Bidasoa's top scorer in the current EHF European League season
  • Belarusian right back Mikalai Aliokhin was Constanta's joint-top scorer in each of the three previous group matches; now he has 22 goals to his name
  • on Saturday, Bidasoa beat Cangas in the Spanish league, 30:24, while Constanta did not play last weekend

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DSC 1840
We're very confident, it's going to be a very direct game. I'm even confident that we can turn the goal difference.
Álex Mozas
Head coach, Bidasoa Irun

GROUP F

FC Porto (POR) vs HC Vardar 1961 (MKD)

Tuesday 29 October, 20:45 CET, live on EHFTV

  • in the reverse fixture last Tuesday, Porto beat their North Macedonian opponents in Skopje, 26:22
  • it was the Portuguese team's third victory in five mutual encounters, while Vardar won once, and one more encounter ended in a draw
  • Porto currently hold second place in the group with three points, while Vardar, who have suffered two consecutive defeats, are ranked third with two points
  • the Portuguese side relies on good goalkeeping, as Diogo Rema and Sebastian Abrahamsson combined for 48 saves in three previous EHF European League matches, at a 41 per cent save rate
  • right wing Mamadou Soumare is Porto's top scorer in the competition with 15 goals, while three players netted nine times for Vardar, who have the second least effective attack in the group matches with 73 goals      

 

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GROUP H

FENIX Toulouse (FRA) vs VfL Gummersbach (GER)

Tuesday 29 October, 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV

  • Gummersbach, who are playing their first European season since 2011/12, are enjoying a five-game winning run in the competition, beginning in qualification
  • in round 3, 10 goals from Kristjan Horzen propelled the German side to a 33:26 home win over Toulouse
  • Gummersbach top the group with six points and are certain to reach the main round with another victory on Tuesday
  • with 110 goals, they also boast the second best attack in the group matches behind the fellow German side SG Flensburg-Handewitt
  • Toulouse, who had begun the group with two wins, are now second with four points
  • at the weekend, Toulouse defeated Chartres 31:27 and Gummersbach beat Potsdam in their respective domestic league matches

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20241008 Vflgummersbach Iksaevehof 35 (1)
We are looking forward to another hopefully exciting and enjoyable game. We saw a great handball match in our first encounter. Toulouse is extremely strong at home. We know and respect that. They have played outstandingly well in the league so far and also played a very good game against us at the start. We hope that we can get our injured players fit for Tuesday and are looking forward to the game in France.

Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson
Head coach, VfL Gummersbach

Also watch out for:

  • similarly to Gummersbach, three other German teams will secure their progression with their fourth straight wins – THW Kiel in group E, MT Melsungen in group F and SG Flensburg-Handewitt in group G
  • Flensburg have hit the 40-goal mark in each of their group matches and will now play in Hungary against a MOL Tatabanya KC side whom they defeated 44:27 in round 3
  • Melsungen, who boast the best defence in the competition with just 63 goals conceded (21 per game on average), will face Valur in Iceland
  • GOG in group A, Montpellier in group B and Benfica in group C also have a chance to secure main round berths if they win in round 4
  • four teams – Gornik Zabrze, TATRAN Prešov, MRK Sesvete and IK Sävehof – will try to grab their first points in the group matches

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20241008 Flensburg Sesvete IAJ46619
We're expecting a completely different game than on Tuesday, which was easier and decided earlier than we thought. We definitely don't underestimate this task and I think Tatabánya got a lot out of the game. They will certainly come with more 7v6 and more aggressiveness. Our task will be to solve this well.“
Nicolej Krickau
Head coach, SG Flensburg-Handewitt
20241022 Flensburg Tatabanya IAJ41086

 Photos: Ingrid Anderson-Jensen, CSM Constanta, Fraikin BM. Granollers

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