In the spotlight as the main round begins are a mighty German derby featuring the defending title holders SG Flensburg-Handewitt and 2024/25 semi-finalists THW Kiel, and a clash in an already tight group IV between Fredericia Håndboldklub and Kadetten Schaffhausen.
HIGHLIGHT MATCHES
GROUP I
Tuesday 17 February, 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV
- both teams start the main round on four points, making this a top-of-the-table clash to open group I
- both also have perfect records of victories behind them and topped their group matches tables, although Flensburg had a few closer results compared to Kiel; THW won all games in the first stage except one by at least eight goals
- Flensburg’s top scorer in the European League this season is back Marko Grgić (37 goals), who was key in Germany’s silver medal at the Men’s EHF EURO 2026
- Kiel are led by wing Bence Imre, on 31 goals; Imre also had a big EURO, finishing as seventh top scorer of the competition with 46 goals and recording an impressive accuracy of 80.7 per cent
- there is a long tradition between the sides, who have met close to 100 times before across all competitions; while Kiel have the upper hand in the historic record, they have not beaten Flensburg since 2021 and the title holders won in a Bundesliga clash this season
