Berlin and Aalborg face in MOTW as race for Cologne enters quarter-finals

Berlin and Aalborg face in MOTW as race for Cologne enters quarter-finals

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EHF / Kevin Domas
21 April 2025, 11:00

The play-offs delivered six confrontations full of suspense and high-quality handball, and you can expect more of that when the Machineseeker EHF Champions League restarts on Wednesday night.

The four teams which qualified directly for the quarter-finals — Barça, One Veszprém HC, Sporting CP and Aalborg Håndbold — will all play away, aiming to keep their chances alive ahead of the home leg next week.

Sporting will travel to Nantes and will try to keep their momentum going, while titleholders will play in Szeged, a team full of confidence after qualifying against Paris in the play-offs. The two other contests — between Berlin and Aalborg on one side, and Magdeburg and Veszprém on the other — look as undecided, and are promising a thrilling second leg.

QUARTER-FINALS, FIRST LEG

SC Magdeburg (GER) vs One Veszprém HC (HUN)
Wednesday 23 April, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV

  • Magdeburg qualified for the quarter-finals after beating Dinamo Bucuresti in the play-offs (65:55 on aggregate)
  • Veszprém moved directly from the group phase to the quarter-finals after finishing first in their group with 24 points, the best record of all teams competing
  • two teams played six times against each other in the EHF Champions League since 2002, with Magdeburg winning two games, Veszprém three and one ending in a draw
  • Veszprém’s Nédim Rémili has netted 71 times this season already in the EHF Champions League, while SCM’s Matthias Musche has scored 58
  • Veszprém lost the Hungarian Cup last week to Szeged in the final (30:31)
  • last weekend, both teams won big clashes in their domestic leagues: Magdeburg against Rhein-Neckar Löwen (30:27) and Veszprém against Szeged (36:33)

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HBC Nantes (FRA) vs Sporting CP (POR)
Wednesday 23 April, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV

  • Nantes turned around a three-goal deficit after the first leg in the play-offs against Plock to qualify for the quarter-finals (54:42 on aggregate)
  • Sporting booked their quarter-finals ticket directly from the group phase, after finishing second in group 1 with 18 points
  • two teams never played against each other in any European competitions
  • Sporting’s Martim Costa is the current fifth scorer in the competition, with 89 goals, while Valero Rivera has scored 72 goals for Nantes
  • reaching the quarter-finals is already the best result for Sporting in the EHF Champions League, while Nantes reached the EHF FINAL4 twice, in 2018 and 2021
  • last weekend, Sporting took the points in Aguas Santas in the Portuguese league (30:29), while Nantes beat Nîmes (36:27)

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OTP Bank - PICK Szeged (HUN) vs Barça (ESP)
Thursday 24 April, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV

  • Szeged qualified for the quarter-finals by beating Paris in the play-offs, winning by ten way after losing by one at home (65:56 on aggregate)
  • Barça booked their tickets directly in the group phase, by finishing first in group B with 22 points - the second-best behind Veszprém
  • Szeged and Barça played 18 times against each other in the EHF Champions League, but never in the knock-out stage. Barça won 13 of these games, Szeged four and one ended in a draw
  • Barça signed 2020 Olympic champion goalkeeper Vincent Gérard to replace Gonzalo Perez de Vargas after his knee injury
  • Barça are the current titleholders of the competition, while Szeged haven't reached the EHF FINAL4 yet
  • last weekend, Barça defeated Anaitasuna (39:25) to become Spanish champions while Szeged lost to Veszprém in the Hungarian league (33:36)

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MOTW: Füchse Berlin (GER) vs Aalborg Håndbold (DEN)
Thursday 24 April, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV

  • Berlin had to go through the play-offs to qualify for the quarter-finals, beating Kielce along the way (70:64 on aggregate)
  • Aalborg, on the other hand, qualified directly from the group phase, after finishing second in group B with 18 points
  • two sides faced twice in the EHF Champions League so far, in the 2018/19 group phase, with both teams winning their home game
  • Berlin played the EHF FINAL4 only in 2012, Aalborg made it to Cologne twice, playing the final in 2021 and 2024
  • Berlin’s Mathias Gidsel is the current second-best scorer of the competition, with 106 goals, while Thomas Arnoldsen has netted 63 so far for Aalborg
  • last weekend, Aalborg drew in Skjern in the Danish league (22:22); Berlin won against Hannover-Burgdorf (37:33)

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Main image copyright: Heiko Voigt / Foto Lächler 

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