Nantes face Aalborg; Veszprém host Berlin in thrilling round 6
Round 6 of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2025/26 is the last one before a three-week break, which also includes a national teams' week.
We will try to give Sporting a really hard time in our home arena. Sporting are a really good team, but if we play at our top level we can beat every team at home.
We have a lot of respect for Kolstad. They have seven wins in seven rounds in the Norwegian league. This speaks volumes about the challenges we'll face in Norway. They're a very strong team, and we know we'll have to have a near-perfect night to come away with the win.
Aalborg is currently among the top teams in the world, with a very strong supporting lineup. They are in great form and perform well both at home and away. On our side, the points we earned against Sporting and Kielce give us a lot of confidence. We will approach this match against Aalborg with a lot of desire and determination.
Nantes once again have a really strong team. It is not an easy place to play, but if we manage to give our best, there will be some very important points for us. Our goal is to be in the top two of the group, and to do so, Nantes are a team we need to compete against.
Although they had a few strange matches in the autumn after the coaching change, they are once again capable of delivering outstanding performances. A difficult, damn difficult match awaits us, but I hope that with the support of our fans, we will also come up with a strong, maybe even extraordinary performance.
They have made small changes since last season and are playing with more offensive variety. Nedim Remili is back in MVP form and Ivan Martinovic has settled in quickly. We always want to win, but the pressure is on Veszprém. We can open up a gap with a win, but a defeat is also manageable. Mentally, it's a different starting position.
This game against Kielce will be a very important game for us because with a victory we can renew our hope to do something important in this competition, I think, in general we are are growing up as team, the way we play — defence and attack — but also our fans can be a big part in this game, a very important part to help the team.
Lumbroso is the engine of their team — every action starts with him. A lot will depend on how we manage to stop him, and Martins. If we succeed there, shots from the back court by Langaro or Vujović won’t be as threatening. Individually, they are a strong team, but they still need time to build real chemistry. We don’t have any other option but to go out there and give it our all.
I have to start by saying we definitely weren't good at all in the last round against GOG. It was really bad, we simply didn't represent this club, this jersey, this city in the end the way we know and can. We talked a lot after the game and agreed that we have to draw conclusions and forget about it as soon as possible in order to prepare in the best possible way for the game against Szeged.
Zagreb have zero points after five games, but they are much better. Very strong at one-against-one at nine metres. Their typical Croatian defence goes in with a lot of experience, it is something difficult to meet in Croatia. If we don't perform a super match, we don't win.
Pelister are a team that, with their transfers this year, have once again underlined their ambitions. This is also reflected in the recent results in the Champions League, were they had some close matches. For us, the same thing applies as every week: Despite the many games, we want to be on point and celebrate the next victory with our fans.
I hope we can be even better than in the match with Barcelona, because we played great. We weren't perfect, but we were close. If you are not compact and flawless against a team like Magdeburg, you will definitely have a lot of problems.
We know that it will be an extremely difficult match, so we have to base our game on solid defence, which is one of our greatest strengths. In attack, on the other hand, it will be crucial to limit the number of losses so as not to allow Barcelona to make quick counterattacks.
It’s great to be back home after a week on the road, especially for such an important match. GOG are in good form after their win in Zagreb and latest against Mors/Thy in the Danish league. They play fast, with a lot of movement and creativity, so once again we’ll need to be well-organised and play with a lot of physicality. We are still working hard and know that it will be a tough match and a big test.
PSG are a really strong team with stars in every position. To match them, we need to maintain the same pace and fast-break game we have shown in our last two matches. It’s an incredibly tough yet fun arena to play in, so I’m really looking forward to it.
