SC Magdeburg — the only team to have interrupted Barça’s run of trophies, with the last six having gone either to the Spanish side or the German club — play their first clash of the season on night one of the competition as well. They host Kolstad Handball at 20:45 CEST.
Barça’s rivals in the 2025/26 final Füchse Berlin will join the fray on the Thursday night, taking on RK Partizan AdmiralBet in Serbia at 18:45 CEST. Partizan return to the EHF Champions League with a high-octane clash following a 13-year gap from their last participation in the top flight.
Speaking of high-octane games, one of the headliners of round 2 will be a rematch of last season’s quarter-final stage: Berlin vs Veszprém, at 20:45 CEST on Wednesday 16 September. When the sides met in the direct battle for a place at the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2026, 120 minutes of handball ended in a stalemate and the duel was forced to a penalty shootout, ultimately won by Füchse.
Played under a new format as of this season, the EHF Champions League Men group phase will come to an end after six rounds, on Thursday 29 October. Aarhus versus Barça and Montpellier HB versus CS Dinamo Bucuresti are the last two games on the schedule of the opening phase.
From the six groups of four clubs, the two top-ranked sides in each progress to the main round, which will begin on 18 November 2026 and conclude on 4 March 2027.
Download the complete playing schedule for the EHF Champions League Men 2026/27 group phase below.
