Two of those teams are set to face in round 3, as CSM Bucuresti host SG BBM Bietigheim on Sunday. However, Vipers Kristiansand and Györi Audi ETO KC will also be tested on their home courts by strong opponents this weekend.
The Match of the Week will take place in Érd, as FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria aim to bounce back from their 20-goal drubbing at Bietigheim last week, their biggest defeat in the competition, when they face Brest Bretagne Handball. The 2021 finalists are strong opponents but are still aiming to open their account this season.
GROUP A
MOTW: FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) vs Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA)
Saturday 24 September, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV
- FTC enter MOTW coming off their worst defeat ever in the competition: 20:40 at Bietigheim
- Brest have lost both matches so far; they have never lost the first three matches of an EHF Champions League season
- FTC’s backs Katrin Klujber and Emily Bölk and right wing Angela Malestein combine for 31 of their team’s 47 goals, or 66 per cent
- only two sides have scored less in the first two matches than FTC’s 47-goal tally: Lokomotiva Zagreb (40) and DHK Baník Most (45)
- FTC coach Gábor Elek: "It will be a crucial match for us, which we want to win, but for that we need to play much better handball than last time. We have to step forward during this week, because Brest are a really good team."
- Andrea Lekic is two goals away from becoming only the fourth player to hit the 900-goal milestone in the Champions League, after Anita Görbicz, Jovanka Radicevic, and Cristina Neagu
- the two sides also met last season and shared home wins, with FTC taking a last-gasp 28:27 win from two goals down (17:15) at the break
DHK Baník Most (CZE) vs Krim Mercator Ljubljana (SLO)
Saturday 24 September, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV
- no team has ever conceded more goals than Most did (87) in the first two rounds of an EHF Champions League Women season
- Krim are the team with the third-largest number of wins in the competition: 124; Most, who are playing in their second season, have won one game out of eight so far
- Only Kastamonu have scored fewer goals (40) than Most have (45) in the first two rounds
- Krim right wing Jovanka Radicevic is 10 goals shy from the 1,000-goal milestone in the competition; she scored 12 times in the first two matches
- in their 27 seasons, Krim have never started an EHF Champions League season with three straight defeats
I hope that the match against Krim will be more equal than against Bietigheim or Odense. If we avoid technical faults and play our fast handbalI, I think that this time we have a chance for a satisfactory result.
At Buducnost, the most important thing has been defence for years. From that good defence they score easy goals from the counterattack, but they also have a very well-placed offensive play. I hope that we will be much better than in Norway, play a good game and get a positive result.
