Promising play-offs start in the EHF European League Men

PLAY-OFFS, FIRST LEG

HC Kriens-Luzern (SUI) vs Limoges Handball (FRA)
Tuesday 25 March, 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV

• none of the teams made it to the knockout stage of the EHF European League before: Limoges are European Cup debutants, while Kriens-Luzern have never proceeded from the group matches
• the Swiss side finished third in group I, one point ahead of Granollers, while Limoges ranked second in group II, equal on points with group winners Irun
• Limoges already faced a Swiss side in the group matches – the outcome against Kadetten Schaffhausen was an away win and a home defeat; Kriens lost both main round matches against French side Montpellier
• the three best overall scorers of the competition face off in the tie: Kriens players Marin Šipic (63 goals) and Luca Sigrist (56 goals), as well as Limoges’ Ihor Turchenko (56 goals)
• the aggregate winner of this play-off will take on THW Kiel in the quarter-finals
• Limoges won their latest match in the French league 26:24 at Chartres, while Kriens-Luzern lost 34:32 at Bern

VfL Gummersbach (GER) vs MT Melsungen (GER)
Tuesday 25 March, 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV

• both sides have their debut in the knockout stage of the EHF European League; Melsungen were quarter-finalists in the old EHF Cup twice, while Gummersbach were winners of the EHF Cup (2009) and Cup Winners’ Cup (2010 and 2011)
• both sides were leaders in the group matches, but after that Melsungen ranked second in main round group III and Gummersbach were third in group IV
• both sides already faced other German clubs in the main round: Gummersbach lost twice against Flensburg, while Melsungen managed one draw and one loss against Kiel
• the best EHF European League scorers of both sides are almost equal: Miro Schluroff scored 54 goals for Gummersbach, while Ian Barrufet netted 52 times for Melsungen
• the aggregate winner of this play-off tie will meet Bidasoa Irun in the quarter-finals
• after being on top of the German league for several weeks, Melsungen are currently third after the 42:32 defeat at Hamburg last weekend, while Gummersbach rank seventh following a win in their latest match, 31:24 at Erlangen

Sport Lisboa e Benfica (POR) vs GOG (DEN)
Tuesday 25 March, 20:45 CET, live on EHFTV

• Benfica are the only former EHF European League winners being part of the 2024/25 play-offs, after they lifted the trophy on home ground in 2022
• Benfica finished third in group II of the main round, while GOG were second in group I, being the only side so far who defeated group winners Montpellier
• GOG aim for their third quarter-final participation after the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons
• in the previous season, Benfica failed to qualify from the group matches, while GOG were eliminated by Industria Kielce in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League play-offs
• Norwegian Tobias Grøndahl (50 goals for GOG) and German Ole Rahmel (43 goals for Benfica) are the top scorers of the sides
• the aggregate winner of this play-off will face SG Flensburg-Handewitt in the quarter-finals
• in the Danish league, GOG beat Nordsjaelland 35:32 last weekend and rank second, while Benfica will continue in the Portuguese league from next week on

FC Porto (POR) vs FENIX Toulouse (FRA)
Tuesday 25 March, 20:45 CET, live on EHFTV

• Porto play their first-ever EHF European League season, but they were semi-finalists in the former EHF Cup in 2019
• in 2021/22, Toulouse were eliminated in the Last 16 by a Portuguese side — eventual winners Benfica
• in the main round, the French side tied twice against Flensburg, being the only team so far who took points against the defending champions – and finished second in group IV
• Porto proceeded to the play-offs thanks to the 38:30 win at Vojvodina to finish third in group III
• Nemanja Ilic is the top scorer of Toulouse with 46 strikes, while Mamadou Diocou scored 40 times for Porto
• the aggregate winner of this tie will encounter Montpellier Handball in the quarter-finals
• Toulouse lost their latest match in the French league 31:25 at Tremblay, while Porto will continue in the Portuguese league from next week on

Photos © Lau Nielsen (main), Be.A.Star-Productions & Sport Lisboa e Benfica (in-text)