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Schwaz were an uncomfortable opponent for WW in the last seasons, but this summer, three important players left, and I expect them to match the motivated host team. Besides, the statements make clear that the guest coach (and the best player) Marakovic is dedicated to hosting the match against Krems. Till then, he'll be completely ready, and that's the match where Schwaz will be trying to get new points. You could say they're sacrificing this match for that reason. Also, no doubt that Westwien will be extremely motivated for two reasons: they played under the average against Barnbach at the beginning and they have to make up to the fans, and they also want to forget about the bitter defeat against Hard. Details

Alingsas' first match didn't end with 36 goals because of them, but because of RIK whose experts clearly stated even before the season began that they won't try to outrun teams whose roster allows them to. According to AHK's coach Franzen, Skovde will be a completely different team this season, eager to counter attach their opponents. The first match against Savehof with 69 goals clearly shows it. Last season, they played three matches against Alingsas around today's margin (52, 51, 54), but that was a season where Skovde were much more dedicated to the defense. It's not the case anymore, and we can expect that this mach will go over +55 goals in normal circumstances today. Details

Last season, all 3 matches of these two teams went over this margin (70, 59, 56) and Drott's coaching staff said they would play even faster this season. This is perfectly logical as they can't play any other way. They have a team filled with technically gifted fast players and offense is the only thing they will be able to use to match other teams in Elitserien. Their defense has lost whatever quality they had (Lofgren retired) and it's no wonder Drott's general rehearsal saw 71 goals, and the game before saw 64. They played those matches against Aranas and Skovde, who prefer slower games if the opponents allow it. Drott obviously don't think about playing such a game against anyone and I don't think Ystads would want a slow game anyway. Their coach Seiffert wanted a much more efficient performance after the rehearsal and I think there's no better team for that than Drott. The hosts are terrible in defense, YIF are coming with what might be the most powerful pivot in the league (Bager) and great back court (Borgstedt, Ibsen, Sjoberg) renowned for having a great shot and ability to pass a good ball to the pivot or wings. So, the hosts are facing a triple danger at almost every moment and I don't think they will be able to defend from that. Even if they could, it's clear they will rush to the other end with full force and try to score in the next 5-6 seconds. All in all, a +60 match is on the cards. Details

A good-quality defense and goal keeper Forsberg were the driving forces to Ricoh's promotion to Elitserien. The transfers they've completed over the summer suggest that this season might be successful defense-wise as well. A few new defenders, all of them weighing more than a 100 kilos, joined. To engage in outrunning with such a line-up would be crazy, and also, most of the line-up is well over 30. Experience and discipline are Ricoh's strong suit, they will try and slow the pace down, make the opponent nervous, and eventually took advantage of it. For the few previous seasons, Guif were the team that preferred the run, but that's changing now. Coach Andersson said that defense will have the key role in Guif's attempt at winning the championship this year, even more so since their main offense force Stenbacken left. 53 goals were scored in their friendly match with Ricoh, but I think the efficiency will be better today given the greater significance of this game. First choice right wing Szybanow, who was in the Ricoh match, now left. That's another reason for the under to happen, as he was one of the most efficient players on the team. Details

These teams met four times last year, with this handicap covered only once by hard in one of the home games. The coach had almost all the players at his disposal then, while WW couldn't count on captain Wagesreiter. Hard can't count on four important players now, and Frieded is no longer as committed to the game as he used to be. On the other hand, the Vienna-based club have some good new signings, and Hard's coach says that is what makes them not only the favorite for this game, but one of the candidates for the title as well. I agree with him and believe that WW have what it takes to cause trouble for Hard. Their win wouldn't be surprising either. Details

Alingsas won all three of last year's head to head matches with RIK by one goal. But the line-ups these teams have for this season are something entirely different. Due to budget cuts, the visiting team lost their first choice right back Zetterman, and very important Arrhenius, while left wing Lundstrom retired. Sjostrand is quite a good replacement for Lundstrom, but the Zetterman and Arrhenius remain irreplaceable. No new signings joined Redbergslids, while a number of good players joined Alingsas. They now have good choices for every position, which is something the opponent simply cannot afford. Also, the home team rarely lose home and it's expected from them to start fiercely to prove the championship title was well deserved. A win by 5-6 goals seems like a plausible outcome. Details

The finalists played against younger and faster teams yesterday but neither of them went over this margin. In accordance with this, I don't expect today's opponent to go over 50 goals. The stakes are high, it's well-known that Besiktas and Constanta rely on strong defenses and we can expect a real war here. Romania saw only 45 goals in their very important Super Cup match against Bacau, and Bacau have a style similar to Besiktas's so this result can be regarded as quite indicative. Details

As Hasselt's coach said yesterday, this will be a clash between young and energetic teams. They both played well-experienced teams that play tough defense yesterday. Around 50 goals were scored in each of those matches, which is probably why the margin is set this low today. Belgian side suggested they would try and set a fast pace, and Haslum would definitely prefer that. I don't think this can end with less than 55 goals scored - closer to 60 is more realistic. Details

I really have no idea how the bookmakers got this margin. Bamback were left only -2 in the last round against Westwien who are one of the candidates for the title, and played without two important players, Vodica and Paladin. Both are back today, and Paladin said that the practices for this match were even more intensive because it's the first they'll play at home, and the match will be streamed. The opponent is Krems who easily defeated Polten in the first round, but mostly because the opponent were limited offensively. So the coach Belos said there's no team that will have it easy in Bambach this season. Including the better teams than Krems, like WW, Hard... so, it really doesn't seem realistic that he doesn't go home with a win by +4 with a team a bit weaker than that. Details

These teams played EHF cup almost two years ago. Haslum celebrated by 11 goals difference at home, and lost by 12 in the away game. Then, the Norwegian team had a much more powerful team than today. Besiktas were quite weaker than they are now. This means that the scenario where Haslum will celebrate by +6 doesn't sound realistic. The Turks got more potential when they brought Nincevic, and the middle back Done and the pivot Ozbahar have been a killer offensive combination for years. No need to talk about their firm defense. Haslum replaced 5 players this summer, lost one of the biggest Norwegian talents (Sagosen), and the coach Skarpsno admitted the team haven't been practiced enough yet, so won't give their maximum. So, I think they're closer to being defeated today, than they are to winning by 6 goals difference. Details

The odds on the Portuguese have dropped significantly but it still has a lot of value. I'm not sure Hard can beat Porto with a full squad, let alone when the injuries have ruled out four crucial players and perhaps the fifth one as well. After all, coach Burger himself said that he was hoping to pass this tournament and reach the Champions League but he realized that's now impossible. On the other hand, Porto's main goal is getting into the group stage and it's no wonder considering the team they have and the fact that they improved a lot under Obradović Since there are no injuries mentioned from them, they probably trained more than Hard and should be able to get the job done without too much trouble. If the Austrians weren't the home team, the odds wouldn't go over 1.35, which would be a more realistic state of things. Details

One or two matches can fool you, 10, not so much. In the last five seasons, these two clubs played ten matches, and every one was at least 60 goals. Two times, it was exactly 60, the other eight were +65. If you take a look at their first matches of the season, they ended with 80, 66, 65 and 66 goals, and the last season, the match ended with 69 goals. The statistics are definitely showing an over, so today's match should end like that. Both teams' coaches are the same as the last year, Magelinskas and Eckl, so it's hard to expect drastic changes in the style of leading the team. Especially because both teams are rejuvenated compared to the last season, and it would be crazy to rely on rock solid defense - rejuvenating the team usually leads to more blunders in the defense, and more running, which both teams are prone to, and that should work for them, as well as for the over. Leoben's offense is also reinforced by the great Lithuanian middle back, so it shouldn't surprise us if the home team gets a few goals more than in the earlier seasons. Details

60 goals were scored, and 37 saves recorded in the game Belarus played yesterday. The Russian game ended with 64 goals scored and 29 goal keepers' saves. These two teams did three pre-season matches (ended at 80, 81, and 74 goals), while their head-to-head meeting in Perm a month ago ended with the final score of 35-34. All those matches were well above this margin, which is to be expected today especially since Belarus' defense is vritually non-existent. Also, Russian pace is fast, they run as much as they can, while the defense doesn't work well. 65 or more goals are therefore to be expected, no matter how high the margin can seem Details

Basing your judgment on the fact that both teams had similar results against Hungary and Romania, respectively, would be a big mistake. The French were destroyed by individual quality against Romania, which the Croatians don't have. They have a collective, just like the French, only judging from their performance, a weaker one by far. Quintin has a far wider selection of players at his disposal, and we must not forget Croatia are missing Radoš, marked as the key player of this team by the selector. As he is the play-maker of the Croatian team, a position already thinly populated in Horvat's team, it seems rather impossible that they can win a match of such importance without him. We must also add that the French defense looks better, and they have excellent cooperation between their middle backs and pivot, a link-up that troubled the Croatians greatly in their opening match against Hungary. Details

Like the coach Kuptel said, the Polish need their best handball to win today. What they showed against Germany yesterday was completely opposite. There was no offense to speak of, the much praised defense lacked firmness - the home team looked scared, intimidated in front of their own fans. The Belarussians point out their rich experience, half of their team plays the '94 generation matches, and that should decide the match today. By what we've seen yesterday, the Polish will hardly be able to deal with Karavatski, as well as the problematic and intelligent pivot Karalek - this guy made wonders in the junior EC in Austria. Add to that the fact that the Belarussian goalies are a level above, win shouldn't be questionable. The only possible advantage the Polish team have is the home court, everything else is on their opponent's side. Details

Croatia played four matches against the Hungarians, and lost each one. The last two were played by the end of 2013, and the Hungarians were without their two best players, Juhasz and Gyori. Today, both are in the team, and should be a big plus, as is Ligetvari who joined after the junior EC in Austria. It's hard to find a position where the Croatians have better individual quality, and I think the odds should be set in the opposite direction. I'll take counter handicap, the brave one can try the Hungarian's clear win. Details

The Romanians got to the EC only because their qualification group was extremely simple (Turkey, Armenia), but the French grounded them easily. They defeated them by 14, 25 and 14 goals difference, so I really don't see how they can win without the double-digit difference today. The French might be the strongest team of the tournament, a lot is invested in them, they have 12 people in the expert camp, including Didier Dinart. Expectations are big and I believe the French will want to show right away that their hope for the semifinal at least isn't for nothing. They said during the breakfast today that they have to win by at least 10 goals difference and they shouldn't have problem going over the set margin, or fulfilling their goal. Details

In a match with much higher stakes (winner was in for the semifinals), these teams played at 52 goals total, and the Austrians were miserable offensively. Right after that, they changed their game style, playing with a stronger rhythm, and it looks good. We can expect them to play the final match of the tournament like that, and that means this match shouldn't end under 55 goals. On the other hand, Slovenia have one of the best transitions on the tournament, but also one of the worst goalie couples. Considering the small importance of today's match, I doubt that Ivezic's team will be brilliant defensively, and leave the home team at 22 goals. I they could score 30 and 32 against Sweden and Serbia , then they can get something similar against Slovenia, too - that's plenty enough for this match to go over the margin because the Slovenians, who never lost to Austria in this generation, shouldn't be a problem when it comes to the number of scored goals. Details

Last year, these teams played a 52-goal game in their battle for the WC bronze and that's probably the basis for this margin. But there has been one crucial change since - the Germans have changed their coach. Schwarzer pushed a faster game last year and the Germans were very strong in the transition, but things seem much different with Baur. A bigger emphasis has been put on defense and they don't rush at all costs. That's how they played a 53-goal game against offensively-minded Slovenia (last year they played a 60-goal game at the WC) and Spain is a completely different team. Suffice to say their games against Serbia and Denmark saw 43 and 40 goals, respectively, while their match against Baur's team at the Airport Trophy ended with the score of 24-22 - well below today's margin, and the stakes are much higher today. We don't expect this to be a beautiful game but a fierce battle for the finals. Details

The margin is set lower as expected after Belarus and Hungary's game was limited to 49 goals. That game was horrible to watch, it was 60 minutes of Hungary not being able to score a single fast-break goal, despite Belarus being famous for conceding easily like that. It wasn't like they couldn't have scored - coach's task was simply to practice attacks against zone defense. I don't believe Norway will have a task like that today. I think this is the perfect match for them to score some goals for the stats since they have good-quality players for counter-attacks, like Pedersen on the wing. On the other hand, Belarus have a pretty fast pace, which is expected today, especially because they had a day off yesterday. They also don't have a goal keeper at a high level, which should be enough to go over the modest 50 goals. Of course, we can't forget that the back players at Belarus managed to destroy Norway at the last EC, in a match with over 70 goals scored. Details