While we were busy watching two SEHA matches on Wednesday, Champions League round 2 has started. Rhein-Neckar beat Wisla Plock and sat on top of Group A, at least for a while. Two SEHA teams also feature in Group A - European champions Vardar and Croatian champions PPD Zagreb.

All 6 SEHA-Gazprom League teams are in action this weekend, with Vardar being the first one to take on their opponents. On Saturday at 17:30 they play Nantes, the current French vice-champions. Interestingly enough, these two teams haven’t played a single match in their history. However, that doesn’t mean the match won’t be exciting. Nantes has some great players in their roster, including the Macedonian legend Kiril Lazarov who signed for them this season, after 4 years in Barcelona. Lazarov scored 2 goals in the first round, when Nantes beat the strong Hungarian side Pick Szeged 30:26. Vardar will look to remain unbeaten, as they racked up 4 wins in the SEHA- Gazprom League and recorded one in the Champions League, last week against Wisla Plock.

The next SEHA team to play their match are Gorenje Velenje. The team is traveling to Bucharest and will look for their second win in this season’s Champions League, after beating Ademar Leon. Dinamo lost the first match against the Danish Skjern 39:28. Gorenje definitely have a chance in this one, as they played well in mid-week against Nexe, almost snatching a win, but ultimately settling for a draw. The Slovenian vice-champions play at 19:00 CET.

PPD Zagreb are opening their home account in the Champions League, hosting Pick Szeged on Saturday at 20:00. The strong Hungarians have a few familiar faces in their roster; including Denis Buntic and Marin Sego. They are a strong team, perhaps even the favorites entering the match, knowing PPD Zagreb are struggling with injuries (Miklavcic, Bicanic, Pavlovic). After two draws, against Kristianstad and Celje PL, the time is right to record an important win against a powerful team like Pick Szeged. Having in mind that Pick Szeged won both matches last year against Zagreb, Kamenica’s team is definitely in search of revenge. The match is played in Arena Zagreb, hopefully it gives PPD Zagreb a boost in what could prove to be a key match in a hunt for a place in the next round.

On Sunday at 16:50, the Slovenian champions will have a difficult task battling against Aalborg, the Danish champions. Even though Aalborg have already lost two matches in the Danish league, they performed well in the first Champions League encounter versus Flensburg. They did lose 30:27, but left a positive impression in a tough away match. Celje had their hands full, they hosted Veszprem in the first round. It was a good match, Celje had the lead at half-time, but Veszprem regained control of the match and finally won 39:31. Surely, this is going to be a thrilling match if both teams perform at a high level.

After a surprising defeat to Vojvodina on Wednesday, Lino Cervar’s Metalurg are hosting Besiktas. Both teams suffered losses in the first round, Metalurg against Montpellier in France, whereas Besiktas lost their home match to Sporting. The Turkish side is competing in the Champions League for the fourth season running, but have never gotten past the group stage. The young Metalurg squad have a lot to prove, they want to show everyone what they’re capable of, and this is the perfect opportunity. The match starts on Sunday at 17:00.

At the same time, Meshkov Brest have one of the hardest matches this season. They will travel to Paris to clash with the French champions PSG. It is needless to say how many great players are in PSG’s squad, so Meshkov truly has a tough challenge ahead of them. However, the Belarusians are currently full of confidence after coming out on top in matches versus Dinamo Pancevo and especially Vive Kielce. The star-studded French champions got the victory in Kiel in the first round, which just confirms their strength. PSG is obviously the favorite this time, but Meshkov will surely give everything they have to achieve a positive result.

We wish good luck to all our SEHA- Gazprom League teams this weekend and hope they achieve positive results!

Saturday September 23rd

17:30 Vardar- HBC Nantes

19:00 Dinamo Bucuresti- Gorenje Velenje

20:00 PPD Zagreb- MOL-Pick Szeged

Sunday September 24th

16:50 Aalborg Handbold- Celje PL

17:00 Metalurg- Besiktas Mogaz HT

17:00 Paris Saint-Germain Handball- Meshkov Brest