EHF European Cup Women heads into round 3

• Bursa Buyuksehir BS host Spanish side Conservas Orbe Zendal Bm Porrino in Türkiye for one of the two double-headers this weekend; in the last round, Porrino played at home twice against Italian side SSV Brixen Südtirol.
• Last year’s runners-up MSK IUVENTA Michalovce are hosts of the second double-header this weekend, as Bosnian side HRK Grude visit Slovakia; Grude would equal their previous best result if they were to advance to the Last 16.
• Except for their Ukrainian goalkeeper, 18-year-old Alina Ruda, only Polish players are in the squad of MKS Urbis Gniezno as they host Italian side Handball Erice SSD ARL, which has no less than eight foreign players at their disposal.
• Madeira Andebol SAD were eliminated by eventual champions ATTICGO BM Elche in the Last 16 last season; this time, Madeira have the chance to improve on last year’s achievement when they meet Üsküdar B.S.K., on Saturday in Türkiye and next week in Portugal.
• KHF Istogu lost to Michalovce in round 3 last season and want to go one step further this time when they meet Czech side Hazena Kynzvart, with the first leg taking place in Kosovo on Sunday.

Regional derbies galore in round 3

While no matches between teams from the same country take place in round 3, several regional derbies are on the cards. Icelandic side Valur will host Swedish opponents IFK Kristianstad in Reykjavik on Saturday. In Malaga, Costa del Sol take on Portuguese side ADA de Sao Pedro do Sul on Saturday. And a Benelux clash sees HB Dudelange from Luxembourg cross swords with Dutch outfit JuRo Unirek VZV on Sunday. The return legs of these three pairings are all scheduled for next week.

photos © 2024 Marek Findrik / Michalovce (main); Elvis Zaldiris / Valur (in-text)