Three play-off encounters hang in the balance

Montpellier are in search of their first victory since 1 December 2021 as they hope to progress past Porto.

While everything has yet to be decided between Paris and Elverum, as the two teams drew in the first leg, Flensburg will fly to Szeged with a four-goal advantage. The second Hungarian team Veszprém appear to have done the lion’s share of their work after their eight-goal away victory in Skopje.

Group winners Aalborg and Kielce and runners-ups Kielce and Kiel have directly qualified for the quarter-finals and each will face a play-off winner.

PLAY-OFFS, LEG 2

Telekom Veszprém (HUN) vs HC Vardar 1961 (MKD) - first leg: 30:22
Wednesday 6 April, 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV

• eight goals from Andreas Nilsson, six from Petar Nenadic and a strong defensive performance paved the way for Veszprém’s clear 30:22 away victory in Skopje against their former coach David Davis
• 19 times in 26 previous Champions League appearances, Veszprém made it to the quarter-finals - last season, they were eliminated by Nantes at that stage after eliminating Vardar in the play-offs
• the top scorers of both sides are equal on 74 goals: Petar Nenadic (Veszprém) and Timur Dibirov (Vardar)

• Veszprém have won 11 of the 14 European duels against Vardar, including both of last season’s play-offs (41:27, 39:30)
• the aggregate winners of this duel face group A winners Aalborg in the quarter-finals

Montpellier HB (FRA) vs FC Porto (POR) - first leg: 29:29
Wednesday 6 April, 20:45 CET, live on EHFTV

• Porto’s Danish goalkeeper Sebastian Frandsen secured the draw by saving a last-second penalty from Montpellier’s Hugo Descat
• including the draw at Porto, Montpellier did not win their last six Champions League matches (three draws and three defeats)
• Porto never made it to the quarter-finals of the EHF Champions League - for the second straight time, they are part of the play-offs now, while Montpellier were eight times among the eight best teams of the competition
• Porto have not lost any of the their three Champions League duels with Montpellier, twice they tied on home ground and won 27:22 in Montpellier in 2019
• the winners of this duel face group B winners Kielce in the quarter-finals

Pick Szeged (HUN) vs SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) - first leg : 21:25
Thursday 7 April, 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV

• Flensburg won the first leg of the confrontation on home court, 25:21
• this game was Flensburg’s second best defensive performance this season, only topped in the home game against Dinamo Bucuresti
• in the last ten seasons, every time Flensburg won their home game in a knockout round, they made it to the next round
• Flensburg goalkeeper Kevin Møller: "I am really looking forward to playing such an important game in a new arena with many spectators. This is something very special. You train a whole season for games like that. We will give everything to take advantage of the first leg and go through to the quarter-finals"
• this season, Szeged only suffered one home loss, in the group phase against Elverum, 34:30
• last weekend, Szeged took the points in the Hungarian league against Kecskemét, 34:31, while Flensburg drew with Rhein-Neckar Löwen in the German Bundesliga 29:29

Paris Saint-Germain HB (FRA) vs Elverum Handball (NOR) - first leg : 30:30
Thursday 7 April, 20:45 CET, live on EHFTV

• after leading by up to four goals, Paris were held to a draw in the first leg in Elverum (30:30)
• Kamil Syprzak had an amazing evening, scoring twelve for Paris
• Paris already suffered one home defeat this season in the EHF Champions League, against Veszprém in the last round of the group phase
• Elverum, on the other hand, won two of their seven away games in the group phase, in Szeged (34:30) and Brest (30:27)
• last weekend, Paris took the points at home against Aix in the French Starligue, while Elverum beat Kristiansand in the Norwegian league