The EHF European League Men 2021/22 is approaching round 4 of the group phase Tuesday as the 24 teams in the four groups continue their efforts for reaching a spot in the Last 16.
Last year’s finalists Füchse Berlin are tested at Presov, where they want to extend their winning streak in group A. After their first group phase defeat last week, Wisla Plock travel to Toulouse, where the hosts hope for their first home points. Pfadi Winterthur host Irun in a duel of two teams equal on two points.
In group B, SL Benfica have the opportunity to increase their lead on top of the group, at home against GOG. The situation could become tough to handle for bottom-placed teams Cocks and Chekhov. Both are without points and might drop further behind their rivals with another loss on Tuesday.
Over in group C, much attention will go to the clash between Nexe and La Rioja, who could improve their ranking as the duel between the top-two teams, Sävehof and titleholders Magdeburg, has been postponed. PAUC seek their first points when hosting Velenje in the other game.
Group D has been the closest so far, with three teams sharing the lead on four points each, with two of them facing each other on Tuesday when Sporting host AEK Athens. The third one, Nimes, travel to Kadetten in Switzerland, while Pelister and Tatabanya look to close the gap to the leading trio.
GROUP A
Fenix Toulouse Handball (FRA) vs Orlen Wisla Plock (POL)
Tuesday 23 November, 20:45 CET, live on EHFTV
- Plock won both previous encounters against Toulouse in the group phase of the 2020/21 season
- Toulouse took their first points of their international season last week by winning 26:24 at Irun, while Plock were defeated on home ground by Berlin
- Plock are two points ahead of the French side
- in the French league, Toulouse tied 27:27 against Limoges and remain in 12th; Plock won 27:21 against Zabrze and stayed top of the Polish league alongside Kielce
Pfadi Winterthur (SUI) vs Bidasoa Irun (ESP)
Postponed, details of the rescheduled match will be announced in due course
Tatran Presov (SVK) vs Füchse Berlin (GER)
Tuesday 23 November, 20:45 CET, live on EHFTV
- Berlin are one of two teams – alongside Benfica in group B – the maximum amount of six points after three rounds
- Presov had won their opener against Irun, but then lost at Berlin and against Winterthur
- Berlin had won the first encounter in a dominant way, 36:23
- Berlin won 35:27 when the teams also met last season
- Presov won their Slovak league match 36:18 at Zahoraci to top the ranking, while Berlin are still runners-up in Germany after winning at Stuttgart
It is a match against Berlin and we don't need to waste too much time to talk about their quality. We need to minimise mistakes that we repeat in every match. We must have maximum motivation and fight for 60 minutes. We will try to adapt our defensive system. Naturally, our 5-1 defence demands a lot of energy. We have an alternative and we will see how much of it we can apply during the match.
Cocks are the big unknown in our group but we know about their qualities in offence and defence. Our aim is to find good solutions against their tactics and to play a good defence ourselves.
We have a kind of 'small final' coming up against Bidasoa Irun. This in the sense that if we can score against them at home, the dream of a top-four finish in this strong group is no longer as unrealistic as we thought after the draw. We are accordingly motivated and hot for this game.
