Kolstad and Aalborg meet in the MOTW; Barça aim to stay undefeated
The group phase of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2024/25 will reach its midpoint this week, as the competition will go into a three-week break in November. In round 7, Plock’s coach Xavier Sabate will face his former club Veszprém, while Fredericia and Eurofarm will meet in the bottom duel of group A. PSG host Sporting, while Berlin have to stand the test in Bucharest.
In group B, Barça will try to end the first part of the group phase undefeated, but face a tough away trip to Nantes, while Kolstad and Aalborg face each other in a Scandinavian Match of the Week. Magdeburg and Zagreb — both in desperate need of points — play against each other, while Szeged and Kielce will try to bounce back after their losses last week.
We know this game is crucial. All EHF Champions League matches are important, and even more so this season, when teams like Sporting can compete. But our team has shown that it can excel in intense moments. We've worked hard and it's paying off.
It will be a difficult game against a great team, but to win you have to play 60 minutes. Not starting well in both halves will make it difficult to win away from home. We have maximum ambition and desire to continue fighting for qualification.
We will play against one of the best teams in the world who have amazing players in their squad and play very well as a team this season. If we want to win against them then we have to play at our best level. We performed very badly against Fredericia in the last round and now we have a great opportunity to put it right.
Winning away in the EHF Champions League is never easy, and in Plock, it’s especially tough. I think they deserve more points than they currently have; for example, they played an excellent game in Berlin and perhaps deserved more against PSG as well. This match is crucial for both of us, and these two points could be decisive for the future. Of course, it will be a very challenging game. Two great teams will face off, and they’re an EHF Champions League top team, the current Polish champions. It would be a mistake to underestimate them based on their position on the table.
Last round we finally got our first points in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League. With very good results in the domestic league and the first European points added to the account, the team is in a very good place and ready to fight for more.
We are seriously preparing with video analysis and training in defence and in attack. Fredericia create a team, they grow year by year. Some players are new and they may not play as fast as the rest of the Danish teams. They don't play in their hall and that can be another handicap for them.
Füchse Berlin are a very strong team positioned at the top of the Bundesliga standings and with a very stable structure. This is the fifth season with Jaron Siewert leading the team, which has only strengthened with top-level players like Gidsel and has Milosavljev in goal, who already knows what it is like to win the Champions League. They are a fast, intense, and determined team. We will be playing at home again with our fans. We want to fight to win every game in our arena because those points are crucial for our goals.
Dinamo Bucuresti have become an old acquaintance in recent years and have been on our travel list often. The club has an extremely strong squad and was rightly in the EHF Finals in the previous season. It's a very heated atmosphere in Bucharest. We have to withstand that and play our own game.
We didn't do well in our last two games in the EHF Champions League, so now we want to improve against Industria Kielce and get the win. The Polish team is an excellent team with a great squad of players. We will only have a chance to get two points if we play with concentration throughout the match.
This will be a very, very important match. We all believe that we are able to win it. Over the last eight to 10 years, the club has tried probably everything, but they did not manage to reach the EHF FINAL4 in Cologne. Now they have changed almost everything, they have switched to the Scandinavian style, i.e. fast play. I like how they are playing this season. They have already shown in the preparation period that they are the favourites for the EHF FINAL4.
Always a pleasure to meet Aalborg! A very good team with many good players across the board! They have delivered good results this year so it is up to us to bring the good feeling from Szeged into the next match!
For me personally it is always fun to play against a Norwegian team. I know a lot of the players from the national team, and it is nice to be back on home ground. Last year we had a really big win up there, but we know that Kolstad will do everything they can for it not to happen again.
We want to go into the national team week with the maximum number of points and that means two points against Zagreb and two points against Lemgo. And we are hoping for two full halls and a great atmosphere in the GETEC Arena.
