EHFCL Round 8 preview: PPD Zagreb and Motor Zaporozhye seek first victory of the season

Matej Hrstic

The 8th round of the VELUX EHF Champions League brings new excitement to SEHA clubs. Five SEHA teams will clash with the clubs they met in the previous round, while Tatran Presov and Eurofarm Rabotnik will face different opponents. 

Tatran Presov – Sporting CP (Group C)
Tatran Presov will open the 8th round with a match against Sporting CP. They will host the Portugese team on Wednesday, 13th of November. After a very tough clash in the previous round and a draw against Bidasoa Irun, Tatran Presov will be looking to win new points, this time of the home court. Slavko Goluza's squad is currently holding the 4th position on the table in Group C. On the other side, Sporting CP are placed right above them, on the 3rd position. The guests have a great round behind them as they secured big victory against Eurofarm Rabotnik just a few days ago. These two teams already met in the 2nd round when Sporting CP were better with a 32:24 result. 

PPD Zagreb – Celje Pivovarna Lasko (Group A)
After they met in the previous round when Celje Pivovarna Lasko secured 24:22 victory on the home court, PPD Zagreb and Slovenian team will meet again in the 8th round. This time, Croatian champions will host Celje in Arena Zagreb and will be looking for their first victory of the season. After 6 losses and one draw, Veselin Vujovic's squad is holding the botom position in Group A. On the other side, Celje are placed on the 6th position with 2 victories and 5 losses. The home court and support from their fans will give PPD Zagreb additional motive for a victorious result.

Telekom Veszprem – Meshkov Brest (Group B)
Another re-match of the previous round's clash will be the one between Telekom Veszprem and Meshkov Brest. Only this time Hungarian champions will play in front of their fans on the home court. It will be interesting to see how did the teams prepare for this match and how much did their tactics change in comparison to their clash from just a few days ago. With only one victory so far, Belarusian champions will be eager to take new points and improve their standings in Group B. They are now holding the 7th position, while Telekom Veszprem are placed on the 4th position.

PGE VIVE Kielce – Vardar (Group B)
Another tough match is in front of reigning SEHA and European champions. On Saturday, 16th of November they will meet with PGE VIVE Kielce. In the previous round, these two clubs met and their clash ended with a 28:28 draw. There is no doubt, both team will be motivated to show their greatest skills on the court in order to secure a victory. With 4 victories, one draw and 2 losses Vardar are placed on the 3rd position in Group B, while Kielce are holding the 5th position with 3 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses behind them. 

Eurofarm Rabotnik – IK Savehof (Group C)
In the next round Eurofarm Rabotnik will host Swedish team IK Savehof. They will meet on Sunday, 17th of November when team from Bitola will look for new points. So far Eurofarm Rabotnik secured one victory and faced 6 losses this season hence why they are placed on the bottom of the table in Group C. The guests have 5 victories and 2 losses and they are currently holding the 2nd position on the table. These clubs have met already this season. In the 2nd round clash, Eurofarm Rabotnik were close to securing a victory when the Swedish team made a turnover and won the points in the end. This will be the opportunity for Eurofarm Rabotnik to make up for that loss. 

Montpellier HB – Motor Zaporozhye (Group B)
Motor Zaporozhye will end the 8th round for SEHA clubs with a clash against Montpellier HB. Ukrainian champions will travel to France where they will be looking to secure their first win of the season. So far, they have one draw behind them and 6 losses. The French team, on the other side, is placed right behind THW Kiel on the second position in Group B. In their clash from the 7th round, Montpellier took the points against Motor Zaporozhye with a tight 26:25 victory. 

Wednesday, 13th November
18:00 Tatran Presov – Sporting CP (Group C)

Thursday, 14th November  
18:00 PPD Zagreb – Celje Pivovarna Lasko (Group A)

Saturday, 16th November
17:30 Telekom Veszprem – Meshkov Brest (Group B)
18:00 PGE VIVE Kielce – Vardar (Group B) 

Sunday, 17th November 
17:00 Eurofarm Rabotnik – IK Savehof  (Group C)
19:00 Montpellier HB – Motor Zaporozhye (Group B)