Montpellier host Barça in Sud de France Arena; Füchse clash with Veszprém
The EHF Champions League Men 2026/27 group phase heads into round 2 this week, as some teams can already take a big step towards the main round under the competition's new format. Spotlights will be on France on Thursday when Montpellier Handball host title holders Barça in the Highlight Match between two multiple champions in front of almost 9,000 spectators at the Sud de France Arena.
This has almost become a traditional fixture; we faced each other four times last season, and we will probably meet again soon at the IHF Club World Championship. So we know each other very well and realise just how tough it’s going to be. Veszprém’s shooting is superb and their defence has improved — they are particularly well-drilled in the central block. So, we are expecting an absolutely top-class match.
Do we have a sense of “revenge” after last season’s games, and could that give the team an extra boost? I think, why revenge? Every game is different. We don’t need any extra motivation for such an important game against a team that played in the final last season. They showed incredible strength, and I’m sure it will be the same this season. I’m only focused on trying to win the game, not on getting revenge.
We expect a difficult game against a team that plays a lot of seven-on-six and has a lot of quality, with players who have plenty of international experience. But we are playing at home in front of our fans, and we want to continue our development. Our goal is to win.
We’ve had enough time since the game against Berlin to rest, analyse that match, and prepare for Porto. They’re a team with a lot of experience playing in European competitions. Last season, they were knocked out in the European League quarter-finals by Melsungen, who went on to win the competition, so there’s no doubt they’re a quality team. We have to go into the game focused and ready to fight from the very first minute.
I can only say positive things about Nantes, both about their coach and their entire squad. Of course, we have our own ambitions and hopes of claiming the two points and our first victory in this season’s Champions League. We want to feel a genuine connection between the team and our home arena, and we believe that can help us secure the victory. Our first points would mean a great deal to us and would give us a major boost for the matches awaiting us in the remainder of the first phase.
Melsungen have made huge progress over the last few years and have established themselves as one of the strongest teams in the Bundesliga. They have a very strong squad with several top-class individual players, so we know that a tough game is waiting for us. But we are playing at home, in front of our fans, and we know how much energy and support they can give us. We have been training very well, the team is focused and motivated, and I am confident that we will be ready from the first minute.
We are playing against one of the best defences in the world, and after their defeat in Nantes, they will be extra motivated and play very aggressively. We need to stay fully focused for 60 minutes.
We know Zagreb are a tough opponent and that we’ll have to be ready for a demanding game. The point in Aalborg was important, but with this new Champions League format, we have to take every point we can. Playing at home in front of our supporters is a big advantage for us, and we want to make the most of it.
In the first round, we showed that we’re capable of delivering quality performances and winning in the Champions League, but we’re also well aware that there are things we need to improve. Against PSG on Wednesday, we’ll have to be much better at both ends of the court if we want to stay close to the favored hosts. It’s going to be a real test for us early in the Champions League season.
We essentially have a demanding part of the season behind us already, and ahead of us is a match against last year's EHF Champions League FINAL4 participant. So there's no need to waste words — they're truly a top-tier team. How do we approach them? By trying to execute our own game well and striving to be the best version of ourselves at this moment. We also need to keep morale high. No opponent is unbeatable, and that's the mindset we must take into the match.
I think that Celje showed great resiliency and grit in their opening match on a tough away court in Zagreb, where they came back from deficits several times, so it’s definitely a team that we respect and must prepare well for, if we are to succeed and come away with the points.
We know we are facing a very strong opponent, but playing at home gives us extra energy. We have learned from the first game, and on Wednesday we are ready to fight for every ball and every minute.
Playing away in the Champions League is always difficult. I believe that the teams in our group that lost will come back with a very strong response in this second game. Obviously, for us, it’s very important, in the fight for the top two places, to pick up points away from home. So I would say it’s a decisive game for us.
We have great respect for PICK Szeged, who are an experienced top European team. They bring an incredible amount of experience, and we are looking forward to challenging them. Last year, we played two good games against PICK Szeged, and we believe we can cause them problems again.
I expect a difficult game because GOG are an excellent team with many talented young players. We made a good start to our Champions League campaign, and that should give us confidence ahead of Wednesday's game. It will not be easy for the coaching staff, as we will still have some players missing. I hope we can repeat last year's performance, when we managed to win in Denmark.
I think we took some pressure off ourselves by winning our two matches last week, in Bucharest and then in the league against Nîmes, where there were high expectations on us. Against Barcelona, perhaps there will be fewer expectations on us, but we are hungry and we want to keep moving forward. We know that every point will be important in order to qualify and, if we do qualify, the points carried into the next round will also matter.
We started strong our Champions League campaign but we are more than aware of how difficult our match in Montpellier is going to be. They also started the group phase with two points and that makes the match even more important.
Montpellier have a great squad depth and some very talented players. We’ll have to give our best and keep improving if we want to take the win.
Dinamo Bucuresti have a lot of international quality and experience, and we need to be prepared for their transition game. We want to stay true to our own playing philosophy, play with speed and intensity, and use our strengths to challenge them. It is our first Champions League home game and we hope to see a packed arena.
Skanderborg will be a high-level game, especially because they are playing at home. Skanderborg have some very good shooters, and several of their players also represent the Danish national team, the best team in the world. So, we know what we have to do to perform well against them. We have to do everything right if we want to beat them on their home court. It will be another difficult game, but we always have a chance.
It will be an exciting test against a team we have faced six times already these past three years. Now we have another chance to hopefully give them some trouble. They will, as usual, meet us with a difficult defence and a load of quality players, so we are in it for a good one!
We don’t judge Kolstad Håndball based on their result against SC Magdeburg, that would be the wrong approach. We need to impose our style of play, limit our mistakes and be consistent in both defence and attack. Our goal is to get the two points. We need to be confident, but at the same time calm and humble. It’s a difficult place to play, but I believe we will come away with a win.
For HC Kriens-Luzern, the match against SC Magdeburg is the first (EHF Champions League) home game in our history. It's going to be a very special evening; the excitement within the team and throughout the club is palpable. We are looking forward to a handball celebration day together with our amazing fans.
Luzern are playing in the EHF Champions League for the first time this season, so it’s a new challenge for us as well. New experiences are always exciting. I know, how demanding it will be against this ambitious Swiss team.
