Kielce and Aalborg aim to stay on top

Following a series of victories for the home teams in the previous round, EHF Champions League Men round 6 sees some fierce away challenges awaiting powerhouses, while old rivals battle to open their accounts.

In group A, all eyes will be on Kielce versus Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday night, for the teams’ first meeting since the infamous quarter-final face-off two seasons ago. The Polish side will try to remain on top of the group, as will Flensburg when they host Elverum.

In group B, the top clash Telekom Veszprém HC versus Barça had to be postponed due to Covid-19 cases in the Barça squad, so the focus will be on the MOTW between Aalborg and Kiel. In the duel that pits Zagreb against Celje, both sides aim for their first points. The match Motor versus Nantes has also been postponed. 

GROUP A
HC Meshkov Brest (BLR) vs MOL-Pick Szeged (HUN)
Thursday 22 October, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV.com

• the last time the sides met was in 2017, when Brest won the contest 25:23. This win remains the only one for Meshkov against the Hungarian side, as Szeged took the other five confrontations
• Szeged opened their Champions League season with two losses – their worst ever start in the Champions League
• the Hungarian side did not play their domestic league match this weekend against Balatonfüredi. Szeged have only played four times in the Hungarian league this season – the last game was on the 11th of September
• two Meshkov Brest players are among the Champions League top scorers: Marko Panic is second on the list with 23 goals while Mikita Vailupau is fourth with 22 goals
• despite only playing two games in the Champions League 2020/21, Joan Canellas also features in the top 10 scorers. With 18 goals, he stands in eighth position

Lomza Vive Kielce (POL) vs Paris Saint-Germain HB (FRA)
Thursday 22 October, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV.com

• Kielce are currently top of the group with six points, while Paris are fifth with five points
• the last time the teams met was on the road to the EHF FINAL4 in 2019. Kielce won at home by 10 (34:24) and then grabbed a ticket to Cologne as they lost by nine in Paris (26:35)
• Paris’ Nikola Karabatic (knee) and Kamil Syprzak (ankle) were injured in Ivry on Saturday. Karabatic has been ruled out for several months
• it has been over a year since Kielce lost a home game, no matter the competition. The last team to take the points in Kielce was another French team: Montpellier, in the Champions League (29:27)

HC Vardar 1961 (MKD) vs FC Porto (POR)
Thursday 22 October, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV.com

• Vardar won their first game of the Champions League season last week against Flensburg, 31:26
• the team from North Macedonia are currently sixth in the group with two points, while Porto are third with four
• Vardar and Porto played against each other in the Champions League group phase last season, and both teams won the home leg
• Porto’s top scorer in the Champions League is Miguel Martins (16 goals), while no Vardar player has netted more than 10 times

SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) vs Elverum Handball (NOR)
Thursday 22 October, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV.com

• Flensburg suffered their first defeat in the Champions League season last week in Skopje, and also lost the derby to THW Kiel in the Bundesliga this weekend (21:29)
• Elverum are currently top of the Norwegian league, with seven wins in eight games
• the German side won both contests between the two teams last season – 26:19 at home and 34:28 away
• Elverum’s top scorer in the Champions League is Carl Josef Pujol, with 15 goals over three games, while Hampus Wanne has netted 19 times in four games

GROUP B
MOTW: Aalborg Håndbold (DEN) vs THW Kiel (GER)
Wednesday 21 October, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV.com

• Aalborg have celebrated their best ever EHF Champions League start, with four victories in a row; Kiel have four points in their account after two wins and a home defeat against Nantes
• Kiel have won three of the four previous duels against Aalborg. The only draw occurred in 2004 in the EHF Cup quarter-final
• THW superstar Sander Sagosen will return to his former club, whom he has previously beaten four times in four matches with PSG
• goalkeeper Niklas Landin is back in the THW squad after his meniscus surgery
• Kiel’s dress rehearsal was perfect: they beat their local rivals Flensburg clearly, 29:21, while Aalborg were defeated for the first time this season with a 26:28 result at Bjerringbro

HC PPD Zagreb (CRO) vs RK Celje Pivovarna Laško (SLO)
Wednesday 21 October, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV.com

• both sides wait for their first point after four defeats apiece
• the match is the 23rd EHF Champions League duel between these sides. Zagreb won 11 times, Celje 10, including the last three encounters. The old rivals have drawn only once
• Zagreb play their 27th Champions League season; for Celje is it the 26th appearance
• the match will be the home debut of new Zagreb coach Vlado Sola after the 27:45 defeat at Barcelona last week in his premiere
• former Zagreb and Croatia goalkeeper Filip Ivic (now Celje) will face his former teammates, while Josip Sarac will touch home ground
• Celje top the Slovenian league with a maximum of 12 points, while for Zagreb, the SEHA – Gazprom League has not started yet