Ambitious sides to deliver exciting ties as EHF European League Women begins

QUALIFICATION ROUND 2

VfL Oldenburg (GER) vs A.C. PAOK (GRE)
Friday, 22 September, 18:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

A.C. PAOK (GRE) vs VfL Oldenburg (GER)
Sunday, 24 September, 18:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• the tie will be played as a doubleheader in Kozani, Greece, with PAOK hosting both matches on Friday and Sunday
• Oldenburg are trying to return to the group phase of a European competition for the first time since the 2016/17 season, when they played in the Women’s EHF Cup
• the German side had one win and one loss in the first two matches of the season, dropping a game against Dortmund, one of the title candidates, 24:30, to open the German Bundesliga
• the Greek side are dipping their toes in the EHF European League Women for the first time since 2019/20, after reaching the quarter-finals in the 2020/21 season of the EHF European Cup Women and being eliminated in Rounds 2 and 3, respectively, in the next two seasons
• Oldenburg can set up an all-German clash in qualification round 3, with the winners facing HSG Bensheim-Auerbach

JDA Bourgogne Dijon Handball (FRA) vs Molde Elite (NOR)
Saturday, 23 September, 20:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• boosted by the signing of Hungarian centre back Blanka Kajdon, Molde will try to earn back-to-back appearances in the group matches of the EHF European League Women
• the Norwegian side’s form has been patchy in the last few weeks, losing two consecutive matches in the domestic league, 27:31 against Fana and 22:35 against Aker
• in four matches played against French opposition in the last two seasons, against Chambray Touraine and Besancon, Molde dropped all four of them, by an average margin of seven goals per match
• Bourgogne Dijon are returning to European competition for the first time since the 2017/18 season, when they were eliminated by København Håndbold in qualification round 2 of the Women’s EHF Cup
• the winners of the tie will face a tough match in qualification round 3 against former champions Les Neptunes des Nantes

Larvik HK vs Costa del Sol Malaga (ESP)
Sunday, 24 September, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• back after some troubling years, Larvik will play their first game in European competitions since the 2018/19 season, where they were eliminated in the group phase of the EHF Champions League Women
• the Løke sisters – Heidi and Lisa – are part of the Larvik project, alongside excellent Norwegian prospect, such as left back Maja Furu Sæteren
• the Norwegian side has started the new season with a bang, with four wins out of four games in the domestic league, including a 31:29 win against Sola, a team which represented Norway in the EHF European League Women in recent seasons
• Malaga have lost one of the four games they played in the domestic league, but secured a clear 26:21 win over Bera Bera in the last round
• the winner of this tie will face Danish side København Håndbold in the next qualification round, the last before the group phase

Hypo Niederösterreich (AUT) vs Önnereds HK (SWE)
Sunday, 24 September, 18:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• Hypo were eliminated in qualification round 2 of the EHF European League Women in each of the past three seasons, by Molde, Atletico Guardes and VfL Oldenburg, losing all the six matches of the doubleheaders
• the Austrian side is still looking for their first win in four years in European competitions, with the last one, 18:14 against fellow Austrian side WAT Atzgersdorf, coming in September 2019 in qualification round 1 of the Women’s EHF Cup
• Önnereds started their domestic league season with a win against Hallby (22:19) and a loss against Skuru (23:24), and are now trying to seal their first-ever spot in the group of a European competition
• the Swedish side has not played in European competitions since the 2008/09 season, when they were eliminated by Croatian side RK Tresnjevka in round 3 of the Cup Winners’ Cup
• the winner of the doubleheader will face Romanian side CSM Targu Jiu in qualification round 3, the last step before the group matches of the competition

Valur (ISL) vs HC Dunarea Braila (ROU)
Sunday, 24 September, 19:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• Jan Leslie, the former coach of Aalborg, Rostov-Don, CSKA Moscow and Team Esbjerg, will make his debut for Braila, after replacing Costica Buceschi this week
• the Romanian side have lost two matches so far this season – one in the Romanian Super Cup against Rapid and one against Magura Cisnadie in the domestic league – which prompted the coaching change
• Braila last took part in the group phase of the EHF European League Women in the 2020/21 season, when they qualified for the quarter-finals, being eliminated by fellow Romanian side Minaur Baia Mare
• Valur are back in the EHF European League Women for the first time since the 2019/20 season, having been eliminated in either round 2 or round 3 of the EHF European Cup Women in the past three seasons
• the Romanian side has plenty of experience in their squad, with stalwarts such as backs Kristina Liscevic and Mireya Gonzalez, while Valur have only Icelandic players in their roster

Photo credit: Hypo Handballklub NÖ Facebook page