Two former winners aim to proceed to the quarter-finals

Three of the eight pairings will be played as double-headers next weekend. Five teams, which were part of last season’s Last 16 have reached this stage of the competition once again.

• none of the eight duels will see teams from the same country face each other
• two former title holders from Spain take on opponents from Serbia and Poland, respectively: Costa del Sol Malaga, the 2021 champions, host ZORK Bor in the first leg, while 2024 winners ATTICGO Bm Elche start with an away match against KPR Gminy Kobierzyce
• last year’s semi-finalists MSK IUVENTA Michalovce — who face ŽRK Split 2010 — and Hazena Kynzvart — who take on Jomi Salerno — aim to go at least that far again
• ZRK Mlinotest Ajdovscina from Slovenia face their second consecutive Dutch club: after eliminating SEW Westfriesland in round 3, they now lock horns with Cabooter Fortes Venlo for a spot in the quarter-finals
• the matches of A.C. PAOK (GRE) vs Madeira Andebol SAD (POR) will see a meeting of two teams who both exited last season’s competition in the Last 16, and both will be desperate to go a step further after narrowly missing out on the quarter-finals a year ago
• the pairings MSK IUVENTA Michalovce (SVK) vs ŽRK Split 2010 (CRO), Hazena Kynzvart (CZE) vs Jomi Salerno (ITA) and Costa del Sol Malaga (ESP) vs ZORK Bor (SRB) will be carried out as double-headers next weekend in Slovakia, Italy and Serbia, respectively
• the current top scorer of the competition is Slovenian Ivona Barukcic of ZRK Mlinotest Ajdovscina, with 33 goals, just one strike ahead of Croatian Ana Fradelic of ŽRK Split 2010; third ranked with 31 goals is Wiktoria Kostuch, who plays for KPR Gminy Kobierzyce in her native Poland

Big names aim to put Italian side Erice ahead

Arguably the top pairing of the Last 16 will see some big names of international handball facing the 2022/23 finalists, Club Balonmán Atlético Guardes. Brazilian world champion and former IHF World Player of the Year Alexandra do Nascimento (41 years old) and Alexandra Barbosa Cabral (39) are the most-recognisable names in the fairly international squad of Italian side Handball Erice SSD ARL. An overall of eight nations are represented in the team. After winning all their matches in the previous rounds, against ZRK Zeleznicar Indija (Serbia) and Handball Kaerjeng (Luxembourg), Erice now have a huge challenge ahead, facing Club Balonmán Atlético Guardes, one of four Spanish teams still in competition. The first leg will be played in Spain, the second in Italy. 

Main photo © Costa del Sol Malaga, Feature photo © Joe Pappalardo fotografo