Norwegian teams hope to keep winning

EHF / Sergey Nikolaev

11 January 2024, 16:00

The group stage of the EHF European League Women, which started last week, is about to continue soon, as all 16 participants will play their second matches on Saturday and Sunday.

Norwegian teams Storhamar Handball Elite and Sola HK, who started with away wins, hope to be successful again, this time on home court. In turn, the ambitious HC Podravka Vegeta and Nykøbing Falster Håndbold, whose results last week were frustrating, hope to bounce back in their mutual encounter.

It will be fun to play the first group phase match at home, against an unknown team. I watched the match they played against Podravka last weekend. Praktiker play nice and fast-paced handball and have some really good handball players in the team. So here we have to prepare very well.

Kenneth Gabrielsen

Head coach, Storhamar Handball Elite

HC Podravka Vegeta (CRO) vs Nykøbing Falster Håndbold (DEN)
Sunday 14 January, 16:00 CET, live on EHFTV

Nykøbing celebrated victories in three of the four previous encounters with Podravka in European club competitions
last season, the teams also met in the group phase of the EHF European League Women, and the Danish side won both times by five goals, 28:23 and 29:24
after the opening round, Nykøbing sit at the bottom of the group, even if they lost the first match by just one goal
Nykøbing's Sofie Bardrum scored 10 goals in the match, more than any other player in the opening group matches
Podravka were close to a win at Vác, but gave up a seven-goal advantage after their top scorer Tina Barišic received a red card

GROUP B

Chambray Touraine Handball (FRA) vs HC Lokomotiva Zagreb (CRO)
Saturday 13 January, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV

both teams were defeated in their opening group matches with nearly the same score: Chambray lost 27:21 at Braila, and Lokomotiva 28:21 at home against Thüringer
now they are looking for a win, which will improve their chances for a quarter-final berth
Lokomotiva are on a 21-game winless run in the group phases of the European club competition
the rivals have never faced each other in European club competitions

Thüringer HC (GER) vs H.C.Dunarea Braila (ROU)
Saturday, 13 January, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV

both sides have two points after the opening round, but Thüringer take the top position thanks to a slightly better goal difference
last weekend, both Thüringer and Braila won thanks to a second-half performance after being tied with their rivals at the break
in the 2022/23 season, Thüringer faced another Romanian team, SCM Ramnicu Valcea, in the group phase of the EHF European League Women and took three points, 38:31 and 32:32
Braila have won all their five matches in the current competition, starting from qualification round 2
with 24 goals, Braila's Mireya Gonzalez ranks third in the scoring chart of the tournament, including the qualification

GROUP C

HSG Bensheim/Auerbach (GER) vs CS Gloria 2018 BN (ROU)
Saturday 13 January 16:00 CET, live on EHFTV

Bensheim are playing their debut season in Europe, while for Gloria it is the second season at the continental club competition after they competed at the EHF Cup in the 2019/20 season
the German team were taught a lesson in their first ever group match at this level last week, as they lost at Nantes 39:27
in contrast, Gloria opened the group stage with a win, 26:23 against Lublin

A tough game awaits us in Germany, but we approach this game with confidence and the desire to play a good game to get a positive result. We have a balanced group and every point is very important.

Florentin Pera

Head coach, CS Gloria 2018 BN