Vardar visit Kielce as four-way top spot battle continues

The tussle for the VELUX EHF Champions League Group B’s top spot could not be more exciting as four teams in the upper half of the table are separated by only one point.

The last round of matches before the winter break offers a titanic clash between the top two, leaders HC Vardar and reigning champions Kielce.

Third-placed Szeged should have a fairly straight-forward task at home against RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko, while fourth-placed Rhein-Neckar Löwen face a tricky trip to Zagreb. IFK Kristianstad host HC Meshkov Brest in a must-win game for the Swedish outfit.

Vardar and Kielce lock horns in heavyweight clash

Zagreb looking for another upset against Löwen

Szeged clear favourites as they take on Celje

Meshkov have a chance to consolidate fifth place

GROUP B:

IFK Kristianstad (SWE) vs HC Meshkov Brest (BLR) Wednesday, 19:00 hrs local time, live on ehfTV

A game both teams will see as an ideal opportunity to fulfill their ambitions of reaching the Last 16, hence one should expect a thriller in Europe’s northern-most Champions League venue.

Meshkov are fairly safe in fifth place with eight points from as many games. A victory in Sweden would cement their position and leave them firmly on course to advance to the knockout rounds of Europe’s elite club competition.

They will head into the clash after two successive draws against sixth-placed Celje, who are three points behind them, while Kristianstad know this is a must-win game as they are seventh with only three points after scraping a solitary draw in their last five games.

The worrying aspect for the Swedish side is that their prolific winger  scorer Jerry Tollbring has netted only six times in the last two games, while the team has also struggled defensively as they conceded 20 first-half goals in the previous round’s 33:28 defeat at Szeged.

Meshkov, on the other hand, rifled in 65 goals in their double-header against Celje but also conceded as many.

The Belarus champions will probably feel that they missed an opportunity to take the maximum four points against their struggling Slovenian rivals, and will therefore see the visit to Sweden as a good chance for redemption.

HC PPD Zagreb (CRO) vs Rhein-Neckar Löwen (GER) Thursday, 19:00 hrs local time, live on ehfTV

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