CSM eye group lead; Brest seek fourth straight win

CSM’s Adrian Vasile and Rostov’s Per Johansson are friends and work together as coaches for the Montenegrin women’s national team.

But for 60 minutes on Thursday, they will try to inflict bows to their opponents, when CSM Bucuresti host Rostov-Don in a match initially scheduled for round 3.

The match in Romania will give the battle for first place in group A new impetus: currently both teams are on 11 points, though Rostov have a game in hand.

In round 9 this weekend, Brest Bretagne Handball host Odense Håndbold on Sunday in another captivating Match of the Week.

Also, group B leaders Györi Audi ETO KC receive Buducnost and are hopeful to extend their glorious unbeaten streak to 45 games, while the Montenegrin side’s sixth goal in this match will be their 7,000th in EHF Champions League history.

GROUP A

CSM Bucuresti (ROU) vs Rostov-Don (RUS)
Thursday, 19 November, 17:00 CET, live on EHFTV

• the match was initially scheduled for round 3 in September
• CSM and Rostov lead group A with 11 points each, four ahead of third-place Vipers
• Rostov coach Per Johansson had two stints as CSM coach and one as assistant coach; CSM coach Adrian Vasile is Johansson’s assistant at the Montenegrin women’s national team
• both teams have been hit by injuries: CSM’s Alexandrina Cabral Barbosa and Dragana Cvijic are out for months, Rostov’s Yaroslava Frolova, Anna Sen, Anastasia Lobach and Mayssa Pessoa are also missing
• with 153 goals conceded in six games, Rostov have the best defence in the group
• CSM won five of their previous nine duels and are unbeaten at home against Rostov

RK Krim Mercator (SLO) vs FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN)
Saturday, 21 November, 16:00 CET, live on EHFTV

• last week’s win in Bietigheim was FTC’s 90th in the CL; only five teams have more wins in the history of the competition
• FTC hope to win two straight matches for the first time this season
• Brazilian left back Samara Vieira is Krim’s best scorer with 39 goals in six games, FTC right back Katrin Klujber has scored 28 goals in four games
• FTC easily beat Krim at home, 32;25, three weeks ago, and have won four of the last five games against the Slovenian side

Team Esbjerg (DEN) vs Metz Handball (FRA)
Sunday, 22 November, 14:00 CET, live on EHFTV

• Esbjerg want to avoid a fourth straight defeat, which would be the first in the club’s CL history
• with many players out, Esbjerg signed Spanish international Nerea Pena last week
• Metz have failed to win a point in two away games this season, losing to CSM and Rostov and conceding 61 goals in the process
• the two sides met three times in the CL, all in 2020: one win for Metz, one for Esbjerg and a draw

GROUP B

Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN) vs Buducnost (MNE)
Saturday 21 November, 18:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• Györ share the group lead with Brest, both on 12 points, but the Hungarian side have a game in hand
• Györ are the only undefeated team in group B, enjoying a 44-game unbeaten streak dating back to 2018
• Buducnost claimed five points in their last three games
• Buducnost’s Allison Pineau broke her nose last week and the French left back will miss next month’s EHF EURO 2020
• Györ lead the head-to-head comparison with 14 wins from 21 duels; Buducnost have won three times
• Buducnost’s sixth goal in this match will make them the first team in CL history to reach the 7,000-goal mark

MOTW: Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA) vs Odense Håndbald (DEN)
Sunday 22 November, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• this Match of the Week includes two teams that won in round 8
• Brest are joined group leaders after three straight wins, including a double-header against Podavka last week
• coming off two straight defeats, Odense handed CSKA their first loss in the competition last Sunday
• Odense are ranked fourth with 10 points, just two points fewer than leading duo Brest and Györ
• Brest’s Ana Gros clearly leads the top scorer chart with 61 goals, including 14 goals from her team’s 31:24 win in the first match against Odense

HC Podravka Vegeta (CRO) vs CSKA (RUS)
Sunday 22 November, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• having lost five straight matches, Podravka are ranked seventh; CSKA lost for the first time last week and are third
• CSKA could have regained top position in the group last week but lost to Odense
• Podravka lost twice in the double-header against Brest, also helping the French team to leapfrog CSKA in the table
• Podravka’s Dejana Milosavljevic scored 12 and 11 goals respectively in this double-header, raising her season tally to 42