Opponents revealed as DELO EHF Champions League schedule confirmed
With only six weeks to go until the new DELO EHF Champions League begins, the schedule for the group phase has been confirmed.
Play begins on Saturday and Sunday 12 and 13 September, with the first eight clashes in the two groups now revealed. The time of each match is yet to be decided, but all matches will start either at 16:00 and 18:00 on Saturdays or at 14:00 and 16:00 on Sundays (CET/CEST).
Record EHF Champions League winners Györi Audi ETO KC will play away in the first round against newcomers CSKA of Russia in group B. The 2018-19 runners-up, Rostov-Don, are also playing away in the first round with a tie against FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria in group A.
Also in group A there promises to be an exciting match between CSM Bucuresti and Metz Handball. CSM inflicted one of just two losses of the 2019-20 main round on Metz back in February, beating the French visitors 32:27.
Meanwhile SG BBM Bietigheim host Team Esbjerg, who were in strong form last season, and RK Krim Mercator will play Vipers Kristiansand.
Elsewhere in group B, Brest Bretagne Handball will hope to continue a winning run against SCM Ramnicu Valcea in the European top-flight competition. Newcomers BV Borussia 09 Dortmund will travel to play Odense Handbold, while HC Podravka Vegeta face Buducnost.
Autumnal excitement
Later in the autumn, a match to keep an eye on is the round 3 clash on 26/27 September between Brest Bretagne and Györ, which will show the form of two of the strongest teams from the last season. Rostov-Don and Metz, who topped the other two groups in the group phase last season, will meet in round 5 on 17/18 October.
The two new teams in the competition this year will meet in round 4 on 10/11 October, when Borussia Dortmund host CSKA.
There is also the Nordic derby between Team Esbjerg and Vipers to look forward to in the coming weeks, as the teams play each other first in round 5.
Reverse fixtures begin in round 9 on 21/22 November, before resuming on 9/10 January with round 10.
The full group phase schedule can be downloaded here.
