Two classic clashes on the menu for round 7

The EHF Champions League Men returns after a three-week break and is back with a bang. In group A, the clash between Vardar and Kielce on Thursday looks like the obvious highlight with the Polish side is currently on top of group A. Meanwhile, Porto and Flensburg, playing at home this week, will try to take points and put pressure on at the top.

Match of the Week between THW Kiel vs Barça on Thursday is the big one in group B. On Wednesday, Zagreb hope for their first points against Motor, while Veszprém aim to remain unbeaten at home.

GROUP A

FC Porto (POR) vs Paris Saint-Germain HB (FRA)
Wednesday 18 November, 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV.com

• the only confrontation between the two teams dates back to 2007, in the Cup Winners’ Cup
• the Portuguese side won by seven at home before losing by six in Paris and going through on aggregate
• after six rounds, Porto stand at the third spot with six points while Paris, having played two fewer games, are sixth with two points
• both teams are undefeated in their respective domestic leagues. Porto won their ninth consecutive game against Horta this weekend (39:19) while Paris enjoyed two victories last week, in Tremblay (33:30) and Nîmes (31:27)

SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) vs HC Meshkov Brest (BLR)
Wednesday 18 November, 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV.com

• Flensburg and Brest crossed paths six times across the last three seasons, including four times in the EHF Champions League Last 16. The German side won all confrontations, the last one by ten goals in 2019 (30:20)
• both of Meshkov Brest’s top scorers have netted 24 times, Marko Panic and Mikita Vailupau, while the two Flensburg best scorers also share the same number of goals, 21 from Magnus Rød and Gøran Johannessen
• the last two Bundesliga games were cancelled for Flensburg, meaning the team has not played for two weeks
• both teams have played five games in the group phase, Flensburg having won four of them while Brest enjoyed three victories, all on home court

HC Vardar 1961 (MKD) vs Lomza Vive Kielce (POL)
Thursday 19 November, 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV.com

• the clash between Vardar and Kielce has become a classic in European handball
• the two teams met ten times since 2015, with Kielce winning six and Vardar taking three
• two Kielce players wore the Vardar shirt in the past - Alex Dujshebaev and Igor Karacic
• Kielce are currently top of group A with nine points taken in six games, while Vardar are fifth with three games played and three points

GROUP B

Aalborg Håndbold (DEN) v Telekom Veszprém HC (HUN)
Wednesday 18 November, 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV.com

• after their best group phase start with four victories, Aalborg lost the last two matches against Kiel and Barcelona clearly
• Veszprém are unbeaten with four victories and a draw at Kiel
• three years ago, both sides clashed in the group phase - and each team won their home match
• Jonas Samuelsson leads Aalborg in scoring this season with 26 goals, while Petar Nenadic is the best Veszprém scorer with 25

HC PPD Zagreb (CRO) vs HC Motor (UKR)
Wednesday 18 November, 20:45 CET, live on EHFTV.com

• Zagreb are still without a point and recently replaced Igor Vori with Vlado Sola as coach. Motor have two points on their account
• Zagreb’s last victory dates back to 22 February 2020, a 31:30 win against Aalborg.
• Motor won their last match, 32:31 at Celje, which was their first away victory in the EHF Champions League since they won at HBC Nantes in November 2018
• the overall head-to-head record is equal, Zagreb and Motor each won their two home matches in four previous duels in the EHF Champions League

MOTW: THW Kiel (GER) vs Barça (ESP)
Thursday 19 November, 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV.com

• Barça are the only EHF Champions League side with ten points on their account, Kiel have seven points
• Kiel won all away matches, but lost at home against Nantes and tied with Veszprém
• Barça have the best goal difference of all clubs by far with +54, scoring an average of 38.8 goals per match
• It is the 26th duel between them in European club competition, Barça have the slight advantage of 12 victories to Kiel’s 11, two matches ended in a draw
• Barça playmaker Aron Palmarsson will face his former club, with whom he won the EHF Champions League twice in 2010 and 2012. THW coach Filip Jicha also played for both clubs
• Kiel’s new arrival Sander Sagosen is the season’s top scorer with 35 goals, five ahead of Barça‘s Dika Mem