Aalborg host Nantes; Sporting and PSG aim to bounce back

Tension is rising in group A this week, as the battle for the top places heats up. Hunters Aalborg Håndbold and HBC Nantes aim for more points to climb up the standings, while Sporting Clube de Portugal aim to return to winning ways against Kolstad Håndball. Boosted by their first win last week, Dinamo Bucuresti travel to Kielce, and all eyes will be on the Match of the Week in Germany with one question in mind — can One Veszprém HC stop Füchse Berlin's perfect run?

In group B, SC Magdeburg will chase their ninth consecutive win in Bitola against HC Eurofarm Pelister, while runners-up in the standings Barça will try to stay close as they travel to GOG. Paris Saint-Germain aim to bounce back after the previous defeat as they host Orlen Wisla Plock on Thursday night, while HC Zagreb are still looking for their first point, playing away in Szeged this round.

GROUP A

Aalborg Håndbold (DEN) vs HBC Nantes (FRA)

Wednesday 26 November, 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 3-1-3
Last match: HBC Nantes vs Aalborg Håndbold, 22 October 2025 (27:28 (15:14))

• HBC Nantes, who are fourth-ranked with eight points, missed out on winning in Bucharest last week and lost 29:28, after winning four of the previous five matches
• with three points below Füchse Berlin, Aalborg Håndbold are the main hunters of the top side; last week, the Danish champions beat Kielce 34:27
• in the reverse fixture, Aalborg were lucky to snatch both points from Nantes, winning 28:27 thanks to a final double-strike of Mads Hoxer, who is currently out due to an injury
• the top scorers of both sides are separated by only three goals: Thomas Arnoldsen is on 43 for Aalborg, while Noam Leopold netted 40 for Nantes
• Aalborg took a 35:22 victory against Ringsted in the domestic championship, their 13th win in the same number of matches; Nantes won 34:28 against Provence Aix in the French league

Industria Kielce (POL) vs Dinamo Bucuresti (ROU)

Wednesday 26 November, 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 2-0-1
Last match: Dinamo Bucuresti vs Industria Kielce, 23 October 2025 (24:28 (12:14))

• Industria Kielce took one point at home in the double-header against Aalborg and lost the return match 34:27 to rank sixth with five points now
• the 29:28 win against Nantes, thanks to a last-minute strike by Tom Pelayo last week, was Dinamo’s first EHF Champions League victory this season
• the current best scorers of the two sides are Artsem Karalek (Kielce) with 37 goals and Haniel Langaro (Dinamo) with 30 goals
• Karalek (nine goals) and Pelayo (five goals) were the top scorers in the reverse fixture, won by Kielce 28:24
• both sides won their domestic matches last weekend by 13 goals: Kielce took a 34:21 victory against Legionowo and Dinamo beat Vaslui 33:20

Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR) vs Kolstad Håndball (NOR)

Thursday 27 November, 20:45 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 1-0-0
Last match: Kolstad Håndball vs Sporting Clube de Portugal, 22 October 2025 (30:34 (19:15))

• Sporting Clube de Portugal are fifth-ranked with eight points from eight matches after losing both duels with Berlin in the last two rounds
• since the 31:28 against Dinamo in round 2, Kolstad Håndball have lost all six matches, including the double-header against Veszprém — and they are now last in the group
• in the previous encounter, Sporting turned Kolstad’s 19:15 lead at the break into a 34:30 victory in the first duel of both sides
• the match in Norway was a strong encounter between Simen Lyse (12 goals for Kolstad) and Francisco Costa (nine strikes for Sporting), who were the top scorers for their sides
• Kiko Costa also Sporting’s best scorer with 61 goals, while Simon Jeppsson netted 38 times for Kolstad
• both teams scored more than 40 goals in their domestic league matches on Sunday: Kolstad won 47:30 against Sandnes, while Sporting took a 41:31 victory against Maritimo

MOTW: Füchse Berlin (GER) vs One Veszprém HC (HUN)

Thursday 27 November, 20:45 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 3-0-2
Last match: One Veszprém HC vs Füchse Berlin, 23 October 2025 (31:32 (12:16))

• Füchse Berlin are flying high after eight wins in the same number of matches, including two close victories against Sporting in the previous double-header
• One Veszprém HC beat Kolstad twice, but lost three matches to be six points below the German champions
• the Foxes won the last duels against the Hungarian record champions, including a thrilling 32:31 win in the reverse fixture, when goalkeeper Dejan Milosavljev saved 16 shots
• in the previous season, Berlin lost their home match against Veszprém, their penultimate home defeat in this competition
• with a 13-goal gap to second-ranked Frederik Bjerre (GOG), Mathias Gidsel tops the scorers’ list with 77 goals; Veszprém’s Nedim Remili is seventh in the list with 50 goals
• Füchse won their German league match on Sunday, 33:30 against Rhein-Neckar Löwen, while Veszprém won 35:27 against Csurgoi

STAT OF THE MATCH: The Match of the Week will mark the sixth EHF Champions League clash between Füchse Berlin and One Veszprém HC. Contrary to expectations, the home court was unlucky for both teams throughout the years, as they have not managed to claim any points in front of their own fans. Berlin won in Hungary in 2011 (33:23), at the beginning of 2025 (33:32) and last month (32:31), while Veszprém took two away victories — 29:24 in 2011 and 32:31 last year, respectively. Can Veszprém stop Berlin's perfect run and continue the trend of away wins?

GROUP B

HC Eurofarm Pelister (MKD) vs SC Magdeburg (GER)

Wednesday 26 November, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
H2H: 0-0-3
Last match: SC Magdeburg vs HC Eurofarm Pelister, 23 October 2025 (36:26 (19:13))

• after eight rounds, Magdeburg are the leaders of the group with 16 points, while Pelister are second-to-last with four points
• in round 8, Pelister were defeated in Szeged (35:20), their biggest defeat since September 2023 when they lost to Aalborg (38:23)
• Magdeburg, on the other hand, grabbed an eighth consecutive win in Zagreb (43:35), as Matthias Musche scored 11
• with 206 goals scored, Pelister are currently the least efficient offence of the competition, while Magdeburg are the second-best defence with 221 goals conceded
• Magdeburg’s Ómar Ingi Magnusson is the competition’s fifth-best scorer with 56 goals, while Dejan Manaskov has netted 46 for Eurofarm
• last weekend, Pelister took the points against Tinex Prolet Skopje (31:25) and Magdeburg beat Wetzlar 33:20 in the Bundesliga

GOG (DEN) vs Barça (ESP)

Thursday 27 November, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
H2H: 1-1-13
Last match: Barça vs GOG, 11 September 2025 (37:32 (25:14))

• before round 9, GOG are sixth in group B with six points, while Barça are second with 14 points
• last week, GOG lost at home against Plock (30:28), despite Lasse Vilhelmsen scoring eight
• Barça came out victorious in the round 8 Match of the Week in Paris (30:27), as Emil Nielsen stopped 18 shots at a 42 per cent efficiency rate
• GOG only beat Barça once in European competitions, back in the 2008 main round (35:33)
• GOG’s Frederik Bjerre is the second-best scorer of the competition with 64 goals, while Barça’s Aleix Gómez has netted 44 times so far
• last weekend, Barça took their ninth straight victory in Liga Asobal against Nava (45:25) while GOG drew 39:39 against Sønderjyske

OTP Bank - PICK Szeged (HUN) vs HC Zagreb (CRO)

Thursday 27 November, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
H2H: 13-3-7
Last match: HC Zagreb vs OTP Bank - PICK Szeged, 22 October 2025 (23:28 (10:10))

• Szeged are currently fourth in the group with eight points while Zagreb are at the bottom of the group, still looking for their first point
• last week, Szeged equalled their biggest win ever in the EHF Champions League, beating Eurofarm Pelister 35:20
• Zagreb suffered their eighth straight loss against Magdeburg on home court (43:35), yet delivered their best offensive performance of the season
• Szeged won the first confrontation between the two teams this season in round 6 (28:23)
• Szeged’s Mario Sostaric is the eighth-best scorer in the competition with 47 goals, while Filip Glavaš and Luka Lovre Klarica have each netted 40 times for Zagreb this season
• last weekend, Szeged beat Györ in the Hungarian league (42:32), while Zagreb took the points against Gorica (43:39)

Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) vs Orlen Wisla Plock (POL)

Thursday 27 November, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
H2H: 9-0-2
Last match: Orlen Wisla Plock vs Paris Saint-Germain, 15 October 2025 (35:32 (13:16))

• after eight rounds, Paris are fifth in the group with six points, while Plock are third with 10 points
• Paris lost in round 8 at home against Barça (30:27), despite Yahia Omar scoring seven goals
• Plock won their first game in round 8 in GOG (30:28) after previously suffering two losses, as Mirko Alilovic made 14 saves
• Plock came out victorious in the first game of the season between the two teams (35:32), when Melvyn Richardson scored 10 goals
• Paris’ Elohim Prandi is the current fourth-best scorer in the competition with 61 goals, while Melvyn Richardson has netted 52 for Plock
• both teams remain at the top of their respective domestic leagues, as Paris beat Montpellier last weekend (34:31) and Plock won against Kalisz (41:28)

Photos © René Schütze (main), Neacsu Mihai, Peka Roland / One Veszprém, Victor Salgado, Lau Nielsen (in-text)