Five things to know about the MOTW between FTC and CSM Bucuresti

Five things to know about the MOTW between FTC and CSM Bucuresti

EHF / Sergey Nikolaev
02 October 2026, 11:00

The Match of the Week for round 4 of the EHF Champions League Women 2026/27 is a reunion of two teams who know each other well — FTC-Toyota Kovács and CSM Bucuresti. The two sides will meet in Erd, Hungary, on Saturday 3 October (live on EHFTV at 16:00 CEST), with the visitors hoping to spoil FTC’s unbroken winning streak in the group phase so far.

Here are five things to know about the match.

1) A regular rivalry

In the past decade, the teams from Budapest and Bucharest have met in almost every EHF Champions League season. Their paths first crossed in the quarter-final of the 2016/17 campaign, when CSM won twice on their way to the EHF FINAL4. Since then, only two seasons have passed without them facing each other, 2017/18 and 2023/24.

Overall, they have met 16 times, and CSM have the upper hand with 11 victories to FTC’s five. In 2024/25 the Hungarian club won both clashes with CSM at the group stage, 28:26 and 31:28. But last season, it was the team from Bucharest who took victories in both encounters, 31:28 and 35:30.

At home, CSM have been clearly dominant, winning seven of the eight games. But the results have been more mixed on FTC's court, where each side took four victories.

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2) Mixed results in round 3

Both sides boasted perfect records after two matches, as FTC defeated OTP Group Buducnost 29:20 and RK Krim OTP Group Mercator 40:29. CSM were also too strong for the same teams, beating Krim 37:29 and Buducnost 36:26.

However, the teams had very different emotions after round 3. While the Hungarian side stayed perfect by beating Sola Håndballklubb 28:25, the Romanian outfit suffered a surprising 32:35 away defeat by BV Borussia Dortmund. The result was even more stunning considering that CSM led by nine goals early in the second half.

Following that painful setback, Bucuresti dropped to fourth in the group, while FTC remain top with a superior goal difference to Brest Bretagne Handball and Team Esbjerg, who are also both on three wins.

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3) A summer player exchange

Interestingly, key players of both teams played for the opposite sides last season. Centre back Elizabeth Omoregie had an eight-year spell at CSM, winning a number of domestic titles in Romania, but decided to take on a new challenge and moved to FTC in the summer.

It did not take her long to adjust to the new environment, as Omoregie has scored 18 goals in three Champions League matches, taking a joint ninth place in the competition's scoring chart.

She shares this position with CSM's Daria Dmitrieva. The Russian centre back moved in the opposite direction before this season, joining the Romanian side after two seasons at FTC. Dmitrieva has already proven her value for CSM, forming a successful partnership with fellow Russian Valeriia Maslova.

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4) Good attack against solid defence

While Dmitrieva has a tally of 18 goals in the competition, Maslova has netted 23 times — and the formidable Russian duo contributed significantly to the fact that CSM currently boast the second-best attack in the entire competition. With 105 goals, the Romanian side are only behind title holders Metz, who have 107.

CSM hit the 30-goal mark in each of their three games so far, scoring 37 goals at Krim, 36 against Buducnost and 32 at Dortmund.

FTC have been a bit less prolific, scoring 97 goals so far, but they rely on the third most efficient defence in the tournament, with just 74 conceded goals. Goalkeepers Blanka Böde-Bíró and Anna Kristensen have done a great job, so the Hungarian side hope to find a remedy against CSM's attacking power on Saturday.

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5) Runners-up in domestic leagues

Last season, both FTC and CSM finished second in their national leagues. FTC, who won the most recent of their 14 Hungarian league titles in 2024, were again the runners-up to their main domestic rivals Györi Audi ETO KC. And in the current season, Jesper Jensen’s team boast a perfect record so far, having won all their four games, including a commanding 41:22 victory at Kisvardai KC on Wednesday.

CSM, who won the Romanian league eight times between 2014 and 2025, failed to claim another title last season, losing it to Gloria Bistrita. Now Bojana Popovic's team are eager to do better — and like FTC, they have won all their four games in the new season. However, their last victory dates back to 15 September when they beat Targu Mures 42:26. After that, CSM lost to Dortmund in the Champions League, so now the team are determined to get back to winning ways.

Photos © CSM Bucuresti; Fradi.hu; Nikolett Nasz; Hans Lie

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