Vipers and Rostov want back to Budapest via MOTW

Vipers Kristiansand and Rostov-Don both competed at the EHF FINAL4 in 2019. Only one of those teams will return to the marquee event of the DELO EHF Champions League this season.

Vipers and Rostov will play their quarter-final tie as a double-header in Russia this weekend.

The Norwegian side’s ‘home’ game has been named Match of the Week. The game in the Palace of Sports in Rostov-on-Don is scheduled for throw-off on Saturday 10 April at 14:00 CEST and will be streamed live on EHFTV. The return leg takes place 24 hours later.

The MOTW coverage sees the game day begin with the Breakfast for Champions series on the EHF Champions League Instagram page. During the day, fans will be able to enjoy exclusive coverage across all EHF Champions League social media channels as well as the live blog on eurohandball.com.

Vipers are eager to get back to the EHF FINAL4, two years after their debut appearance – and third-place finish – at the season-ending event in Budapest.

In March they overcame a tough challenge from Odense Håndbold in the play-offs, winning the all-Scandinavian tie 65:62 after losing the first leg at home.

Rostov had an easier path to the quarter-final, recording two easy wins over HC Podravka Vegeta for an aggregate 71:44 victory.

The Russian side also had a smoother campaign in the group phase, winning the same group A in which Vipers finished fifth.

Rostov clearly lead the head-to-head comparison. The 2019 runners-up have won all previous encounters, including the most recent one in February, when Vipers also had to play their home game elsewhere – in Erd, Hungary.

Rostov won that duel 24:23, though Vipers led 16:15 at half-time.

That result shows that the double-header in Russia this weekend could easily become a close affair, with two teams that would each make for a strong contender at the EHF FINAL4 on 29/30 May.