Four teams strive to stay flawless

Four teams strive to stay flawless

A rematch of the 2015 final between Larvik and Buducnost is one of the highlights of Round 2 of the Women’s EHF Champions League Group Matches this weekend.

Buducnost, which beat Larvik three years ago to lift the trophy, started the new season in Group A with a win last week, and the Montenegrin outfit will visit Norway on Saturday.

Metz also make a trip to Northern Europe as the French side face Danish debutants Odense on Sunday.

In two Group B matches on Saturday, Rostov try to maintain their perfect record against Brest, while Sävehof host Kobenhavn in a Scandinavian derby.

GROUP A

Larvik HK (NOR) vs Buducnost (MNE)
Saturday, 13 October, 18.15 hrs local time, live on ehfTV.com

• Both teams have met 15 times before, most notably in the 2015 final which Buducnost won 26:22

• Their head-to-head statistics are in the balance: seven wins each and one draw

• Buducnost fly to Norway looking back on a 31:28 opening win against Odense

• Larvik was routed 33:19 in the Norwegian league by fellow Champions League contenders Vipers Kristiansand on Wednesday

Odense HC (DEN) vs Metz Handball (FRA)
Sunday, 14 October, 15.10 hrs local time, live in ehfTV.com

• The match is Odense’s first ever home game in the Champions League

• “Metz are playing a different kind of handball than Buducnost, but they are just as good,” says Odense coach Jan Pytlick

• Metz clearly defeated Larvik (32:20) in their opening match, while Odense lost 31:28 away to Buducnost

• Both teams earned an eighth straight victory in their respective domestic leagues this week: Metz against Nice (31:21), Odense against Silkeborg Voel (36:20)

GROUP B

Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA) vs Rostov-Don (RUS)
Saturday, 13 October, 15:00 hrs local time, live on ehfTV.com

• Brest opened with defeat at Kobenhavn last week, but have Ana Gros and Sladana Pop-Lazic as joint top scorers of the competition with nine goals

• Russian champions Rostov are top of the group after comfortably beating Sävehof

• Rostov won all four previous matches against Brest: in the quarter-final of 2016/17 and in the group matches of 2017/18

IK Sävehof (SWE) vs Kobenhavn Handball (DEN)
Saturday, 13 October, 15:30 hrs local time, live on ehfTV.com

• The two Scandinavian teams have not played each other before in a European Cup competition

• Sävehof sit bottom of the group after losing at Rostov; Kobenhavn enjoyed a good start by beating Brest

• Kobenhavn’s Johanna Bundsen, Linn Blohm and Jenny Alm will play against their former club, while Sävehof’s Christina Elm played for Kobenhavn in the past