Six of the eight quarter-finalists of the EHF European League Women 2021/22 have already been confirmed ahead of the final round of the group phase this weekend.
While all has been decided in groups A (Sola and Besancon) and D (Viborg and Valcea), there is still a lot to play for in groups B (winners Bietigheim) and C (winners Herning-Ikast), with a total of five teams still hopeful to finish as runners-up and grab one of the two remaining quarter-final spots.
In group B, third-ranked titleholders Nantes (currently on four points) need a misstep from second-ranked Baia Mare (five points) in order to be able to overtake the Romanian side.
And in group C, three teams – Storhamar, Cisnadie, and Lada – have at least a mathematical chance to join Herning into the quarter-final.
GROUP A
Motherson Mosonmagyarovari KC (HUN) vs HC Lokomotiva Zagreb (CRO)
Sunday 20 February, 14:00 CET, live on EHFTV
- both teams have no chance of progressing further
- the Hungarian team won the reverse fixture 22:19
- they might be last in their European League group, Lokomotiva are doing well in the Croatian league where they lately beat Umag 38:20 for first place
- Mosonmagyarovar are welcoming Lokomotiva after a clear 34:25 win over Érd in the Hungarian league, but they still deal with injuries
Sola HK (NOR) vs ES Besancon Feminin (FRA)
Sunday 20 February, 16:00 CET, live on EHFTV
- Sola are looking to finish the group phase with a perfect six wins from six matches, while Besancon are aiming for their fourth victory
- Besancon are coming off a 25:18 win over Paris 92 in the French League, where they are still in fifth place
- Sola clearly beat Follo HK Damer in the Norwegian league: 39:21
- Sola have scored 162 goals so far, the highest number of all 16 teams in the group phase
GROUP B
CS Minaur Baia Mare (ROU) vs SG BBM Bietigheim (GER)
Saturday, 19 February, 16:00 CET, live on EHFTV
- Baia Mare book their quarter-final spot if they beat already-qualified Bietigheim; a draw or a defeat will make them wait for the result of the other group match on Sunday
- one team that competed at the EHF Finals Women last season will miss the quarter-final this season: either hosts Baia Mare of champions Nantes
- Baia Mare have conceded 154 goals in the group phase; only Hungarian side Vaci NKSE had more goals scored against them
- only Sola in group A (162) scored more goals than Bietigheim (160) so far
- Baia Mare suffered their biggest defeat in Europe in the reverse fixture in Germany (39:20) but have lost only once in seven home games against German teams
Les Neptunes de Nantes (FRA) vs MKS Zaglebie Lubin (POL)
Sunday, 20 February, 14:00 CET, live on EHFTV
- Nantes will know at the start of their match if they still have a chance to reach the quarter-final and, if so, what result they need
- Nantes (on four points) can only advance if Baia Mare (five points) have dropped one or two points against Bietigheim the day before
- If Nantes and Baia Mare end up with the same number of points, the French side will go through thanks to the better head-to-head comparison
- the reigning champions have already lost more games this season – three – than in their title-winning campaign: two
- Lubin have so far failed to win an away match in France in any European competition
We know that this is a really important game for us. We are aware that we have to win if we want to think about qualifying for the quarter-final. I think the key to our success will be a strong defence game.
