Unbeaten sides collide in round 3 showdowns

Two teams with a perfect record in group A, Gloria Bistrita and Metz Handball, will face off in Romania, while reigning champions Györi Audi ETO KC will try to earn their third straight win at OTP Group Buducnost. Team Esbjerg, who finished third in their 2024/25 campaign, hope to finally take their first points in the current season, as they will take on Storhamar Handball Elite in a Nordic clash.

In group B, all eyes are on the Match of the Week, as unbeaten Brest Bretagne Handball host CSM Bucuresti. FTC Rail-Cargo Hungaria aim for their first win of the season, while Ikast Håndbold and HC Podravka look to defend their home courts.

GROUP A

OTP Group Buducnost (MNE) vs Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN)

Saturday 27 September, 18:00 CEST, live on EHFTV
H2H: 3-5-23
Last match: Györi Audi ETO KC vs Buducnost, 25 January 2025 (33:21 (18:12))

• it will be the 32nd match between Buducnost and Györ in European club competitions, and the 30th in the EHF Champions League
• last season, the rivals also met in the group stage of Europe's top flight, and Buducnost snatched a point from Györ at home (23:23) before losing 33:21 in Hungary
• now the Hungarian powerhouse top the group with four points and boast the biggest number of goals in the entire competition (74), after beating both Dortmund (43:30) and Esbjerg (31:30)
• in contrast, Buducnost have the least effective attack in the competition with a tally of 38 goals, after suffering defeats against Debrecen (25:24) and Storhamar (25:14)
• the Montenegrin team are on a seven-match winless run in the EHF Champions League, taking the last season into account
• only four days prior to the match, Buducnost parted ways with coach Bojana Popovic, and Montenegrin Zoran Abramovic took over the helm and will lead them on Saturday

BV Borussia Dortmund (GER) vs DVSC Schaeffler (HUN)

Sunday 28 September, 14:00 CEST, live on EHFTV
H2H: no previous encounters in European competitions

• Dortmund sit at the bottom of the group after two straight defeats, 43:30 against Györ and 38:29 at Metz
• the German side have the least effective defence in the entire competition, with 81 goals conceded in two matches
• both Debrecen's games were very hard-fought, as the Hungarian side defeated Buducnost 25:24 before losing 34:33 against Bistrita
• it will be the first match between Dortmund and Debrecen in European club competitions, as both teams play their third season in the EHF Champions League group phase
• centre back Lois Abbingh is Dortmund's best scorer in the current season with nine goals; right back Alicia Toublanc netted 12 goals for Debrecen

Team Esbjerg (DEN) vs Storhamar Handball Elite (NOR)

Sunday 28 September, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV
H2H: 3-1-0
Last match: Storhamar Handball Elite vs Team Esbjerg, 22 January 2023 (25:34 (11:19))

• Esbjerg are still waiting for their maiden points in the current competition after two one-goal defeats, 30:29 against Metz and 31:30 at Györ
• Storhamar claimed their first points in round 2, as 19 saves from Eli Marie Raasok handed them a 25:14 win over Buducnost
• thanks to that victory, the Norwegian side ended their six-game losing run in the EHF Champions League, which started last season
• Swedish line player Olivia Löfqvist moved from Storhamar to Esbjerg this summer; none of her five Norwegian teammates played for Storhamar in the past
• Nora Mørk, Henny Reistad and Tabea Schmid are Esbjerg's leading scorers in the competition with 10 goals apiece; Veronika Mala and Anniken Obaidli have netted 12 times each for Storhamar

Gloria Bistrita (ROU) vs Metz Handball (FRA)

Sunday 28 September, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV
H2H: 0-0-2
Last match: CS Gloria 2018 BN vs Metz Handball, 15 February 2025 (28:34 (12:18))

• both sides boast a perfect record in the current competition, with Metz taking a higher position in the standings due to a better goal difference
• in round 2, Bistrita earned a 34:33 win at Debrecen, while Metz took a commanding victory against Dortmund, 38:29
• last season, the rivals also met in group A of the EHF Champions League, and Metz won both encounters, 28:26 and 34:28
• Bistrita's Japanese right wing Asuka Fujita is the second-best scorer of the competition with 17 goals
• right wing Lucie Granier is Metz's leading scorer with 13 goals, while her teammate Léna Grandveau netted 10 times

GROUP B

FTC Rail-Cargo Hungaria (HUN) vs Sola HK (NOR)

Saturday 27 September, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV
H2H: no previous encounters in European competitions

• the Hungarian side will look to redeem themselves at home after two straight defeats against Odense Håndbold and CSM Bucuresti
• the last time FTC had a similar start was in 2023/24, when they had to wait six rounds for their first win
• their opponents, Sola, are on the same path, still without points in their debut season in Europe's top flight
• while FTC rank among the top five attacks of the competition, their defence needs improvement — they have conceded 65 goals in two games, the second-highest number among all teams
• Sola's left wing Camilla Herrem keeps impressing as the club's top scorer with 11 goals at 91 per cent efficiency, while goalkeeper Rikke Granlund ranks among the top four with a 35.71 per cent save rate

HC Podravka (CRO) vs Odense Håndbold (DEN)

Saturday 27 September, 18:00 CEST, live on EHFTV
H2H: 0-0-2
Last match: Odense Håndbold vs HC Podravka Vegeta, 9 January 2021 (35:20 (18:10))

• it is the first time Podravka opens the EHF Champions League group phase with two straight victories since 1997/98
• Odense matched that success after beating FTC (34:32) and Ikast (35:28) in the first two rounds
• the Danish side is just 40 goals shy of their 3,000th EHF Champions League strike
• Podravka's Matea Pletikosic shares the competition's top scorer spot with Györ's Dione Housheer on 19 goals, and also leads in assists with 13
• Pletikosic will be the key player for Odense's Althea Reinhardt to stop — the competition's third-best goalkeeper with 28 saves at 32.56 per cent efficiency
• Podravka have never beaten Odense — in their previous two encounters in 2020/21, the Danish side cruised to convincing victories, winning by 16 and 15 goals, respectively

MOTW: Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA) vs CSM Bucuresti (ROU)

Saturday 27 September, 18:00 CEST, live on EHFTV
H2H: 4-1-1
Last match: Brest Bretagne Handball vs CSM Bucuresti, 14 January 2024 (24:21 (13:10))

• Brest Bretagne lead the group after two victories and will look to stay on top
• CSM Bucuresti bounced back from a narrow opening defeat against Ikast (28:27) to beat FTC at home in round 2 (31:28)
• both teams boast almost identical attacks — 58 goals each, with the hosts on 62.4 per cent efficiency and CSM slightly higher at 63.7 per cent
• CSM's left back Djurdjina Jaukovic spent four years in Brest, from 2020/21 to 2023/24
• this will be the seventh clash between the two sides — in three games in Brest, CSM won only once, back in September 2022 (33:26)
• Annika Lott and Onacia Ondono top Brest's scoring chart with 11 goals each, while CSM's Elizabeth Omoregie is on 15

STAT OF THE MATCH (by Julian Rux): If CSM Bucuresti want to be the first team to beat Brest Bretagne Handball this season, they will need more luck on their side than they have had so far. The Romanian side kept possession only after 6.1 per cent of their missed shots, the second-lowest value. But this can improve against Brest, as the French side gained possession after only 76.9 percent of their opponents' missed shots, which is also the second-lowest figure among the participants.

Ikast Håndbold (DEN) vs Krim Otp Group Mercator (SLO)

Sunday 28 September, 14:00 CEST, live on EHFTV
H2H: 5-1-4
Last match: Krim Mercator Ljubljana vs Ikast Handbold, 3 February 2024 (28:34 (15:18))

• Ikast opened with an important 28:27 win against CSM, but faltered in the all-Danish clash in round 2 against Odense (35:28); Krim sit at the bottom with two straight defeats
• the Slovenian side have the second-worst attack in the competition, scoring only 42 goals in two games; Ikast are slightly better with 56 — seven more per game on average compared to Krim
• Jamina Roberts, Emilie Hegh Arntzen and Julie Scaglione lead the charge for Ikast with 28 goals between them, while Tamara Mavsar and Grace Zaadi Deuna netted eight each for Krim
• following injuries to line players Ane Cecilie Høgseth and Karen Klokker Poulsen, the Danish team signed French pivot Beatrice Edwige, set to make her Ikast debut this Sunday
• Ikast had a high-scoring win in the Danish league, netting 46 goals in a commanding 46:30 victory over København; Krim also clinched a 32:20 victory over Velenje in the Slovenian league

Photos © Kevin Clement (main), Storhamar Handball Elite, Anze Malovrh / kolektiff, Torben Andresen (in-text)