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There's only one option for Vardar in this match - to win to stay in the race for the Champions League final, an imperative for this match. They're playing under pressure, but usually give their best in those conditions, especially at home. They have good two or three players for every positions, except for the pivot position where they only have Anja Althaus. The back Khmyrova came back today, so their lineup is even better. They're much fresher than the Germans who played a match in the championship and had lots of problems while coming back to Leipzig and Skopje. It seems that their very important back player, Saskia Lang, won't play today. She's the second best scorer for Leipzig in the Champions League, and a player who was one of the best ones in the first match when she scored five. Add to this that the right back Hubinger wasn't completely healthy this week, and her minutes against Trier were limited. We shouldn't ignore the fact that Vardar will have the Dane, Pytlick, on the bench who can influence the quality and the rhythm of the home team with his technical tactics. Details

If they want to stay within the best Danish teams in the next season, Nykobing have to get at least two points, something they're able to do in this away match. They're playing against the tradition, and against a team that showed a bit better results this season, but they're not any worse than them. Actually, Nykobing have better solutions in some positions, and their defense is better. It was announced that half the arena will be filled with their fans, so they've got that on their side, too. The reason I think Nykobing will die for the points are the positive things waiting in the next season. Their budget is already formed, they brought one of the best Danish coaches, Niels Agesen, who's leaving Holstebro after ten seasons. The last and the most exciting news is that they'll sign one of the best Danish players, middle back Kristine Kristiansen. She's coming with the coach Agesen. All these investments and creating a great team have to be confirmed with Nykobing staying in the Boxer league, and that has to be done today. Details

The margins are set according to Randers but the conditions are such that Silkeborg will be the team deciding the outcome of this match. They are on a roll, they won 5 out of the last 6 matches, have over overs and only one under (Midtjylland, the best defense of the league). They beat defending champions Viborg and top table Esbjerg, among others. Those wins were a result of a fast pace and both finished with over 60 goals. Slikeborg are very efficient and will definitely try and and take advantage of Randers' form and the fact one of the weakest links on their team in the goal-keeper duo- Two of them conceded 26 goals to a second-tier Tuesday. The first head-to-head match early in the season finished at 60 goals. Details

Leipzig are playing an away game with the bottom table Trier today. The win is not questionable but I believe there are a few reasons to believe that the handicap margin is. Visitors are to travel to Skopje not 24 hours after returning from Trier. The match with Vardar is a direct clash between teams aiming for the Champions League QFs and has a great importance. Saskia Lang won't be here today with an injury, and might not travel to Skopje either. She is one of the most productive players at Leiozig, with 48 Champions League goals. Right back Hubinger is questionable since she hasn't done a single practice session this week. She went to Trier but might not play. Right back Atlandottir is to be on the team for the first time today, but she will probably play only defense. All of that is shortening the list for Leipzig's coach.

Trier will be fighting to avoid relegation till the end of the season. They will probably not be able to get points today but they are much better home (lost only once by more than 8 goals). The team is getting better and have 2 wins in the last 4 rounds. They lost b 8 goals to Blombeeg last round after being in a 2-goal deficit in the 45th minute. They lost the first h2h with Lepzig by 10 goals but left wing Vallet didn't play that game with an injury. She scored 7 goals against Bombeeg. Lepzig won by 6 goals last season and something similar should happen today. Details

Odense are capable of not only putting up a fight against the defending champions, they are also able to beat them. They have top players at each position and unlike the first part of the season, now have a well-experienced defense player Kristensen. They have the roster and the form that is at its best level right now. Viborg were finally complete after Damnjanovic got back only to lose captain Gullden soon after. That will definitely affect their game in the next 3-4 meetings. On top o that, they have been doing with only one player at left and right back positions and with only one pivot on both ends of the floor. They have problems that will be obvious today. Viborg cannot be written off in advance but they will have a tough time keeping their game up from start to finish with all the problems. Details

The limit above 50 goals is always something that has value in matches played by Holstebro, especially in the ones where they're the hosts and "fresh" to play, and that's today. Only two matches on their home turf ended below 50 goals, one was against the best defense in the Danish championship (Midtjylland), and the second against the physically dominant Arhus. Next to that, they have the second best offense in the championship. Statistically, when talking about head-to-head, these two teams played one "under" match in the first part of the season, although the tendency in the first part of the mach suggested over 50 goals. But, other three matches in the last two seasons ended above this margin, and both in this hall were above 55 goals. The away coach announced that he wants to see better efficiency from his offense until the end of the season. Details

Two very important factors make Midtjylland a heavy favorite. The first one is the excellent form in which they are for a while now and a number of well-experienced players at every position. Those two things are a big problem for Viborg. Lack of options and injured players that affect their results lately. Sanja Damjanovic is back and that will help but Viborg still have only one player at both wing position and the line. They scored less than 20 goals in their last meeting in Copenhagen and what are they to expect against the best defense in the league. Midtjylland are playing home, they're motivated and after the defeat in the first part of the season. Midtjylland were in shock back then after a knock-out in CL qualification and without Lina Jorgesen. The situation on the team is nearly perfect now. Details

Metzingen are welcoming Germany's current champions. So far they've met twice, and both times they were defeated on Thuringer's home court, first time at the opening of the championship this season (26-20), and second time in the fourth round of the German Cup at the beginning of 2015 (34-22). It's important to note that Thuringen played without four key players in the championship match (Frey, Luzmova, Smeets and Snopova) who missed most of the first half of the season.

The home team don't have it easy. Four Metzingen players (Stefanie, Temes, Grossman and Beddies) didn't practice these days because of the cold and their performance is questionable. Second forward Barbara Balogh will surely miss today's match because of a knee injury. Metzingen has a good line of players (Minevskaya, Loerper, Zapf), but considering the roster problems, they will probably have to work in both directions. Thuringer have everyone available, they declassed Leipzig as part of the Champions League on Saturday (34-25). Nadgornaja and Engel were unstoppable. Krause was fantastic at the goal, and she was touble for Metzingen as well this season. Considering the previous head-to-head scores, we can again expect Thuringer's win in margins with five goals of difference. Details

I expect Odense will use Randers' fatigue to their advantage. In 10 days they played on two fronts and they're also in a bad shape which culminated two days ago after their coach Brandt quit. In their last match, Odense offensively did great against Nykobing, a team who have a good defense. Their forward Iversen did a good job. She missed the last two head-to-head matches against Randers in EHF Cup, while best player Maria Adler missed the Championship one at the end of September which Odense lost with -1. We're talking about two best forwards of Odense, and they look a lot better than before. Let's add that Angelica Wallen returned to Randers after two missed matches Another thing which favors the "over" on today's match are her number of goals (4 against Aarhaus, 6 against Lublin). Statistically, two out of three matches this season ended up over the margin. Details

Playing an under in Viborg's matches at this moment has a value which is today especially emphasized with the meaning of this match. Baia Mare are a team of expensive "stars", but can't boast with any effect or the quality of their offense. Out of all 12 teams in this phase of the Champions League, Baia Mare have the weakest point average of scored goals. This is almost like a qualification match for the Romanians, when talking about the placement between four of the greatest teams in this group. In any case, their defense seems a lot more serious, goalkeepers Ungureanu and Arenhart are one of those for whom we can say show stability throughout the entire season. On the other hand, we have a combination of Masson and Poulsen on Viborg's goal who give stability to a team who are at the height of their possibilities. A lot will depend on the effect of back players, and we can see Damjanovic will be in the team as well, for whom this will be the first match after two match of pause and which will probably play in the defense. In the end, we have a situation in which margin seems more realistic, at least for a goal or two less than what's offered. Details

The first leg match that took place in Spain seven days ago proved that Muratpasa are underestimated and we have to take advantage of it. Bera Bera opened the match better but Muratpasa controlled the game later and always stayed 2-3 goals ahead. They could have even won but the Lithuanian officials disallowed Muratpasa's goal in the final attack.

Great result by the Turkish team is no coincidence, they have six foriegn players now that got their game to a new level, among them Koznjak from Croatia (scored 7 goals against Bera Bera), Kotsina from Belarus, Lauik of Ukraine, Gjorgijevska from Macedonia, Vuckovic from Serbia, and another Croataian Pavic. The only potentially weak link on the team are goal keepers.

The Spanish side is a mix of well-experienced and younger Spanish players. They played Champions League group stage last season to beat Podravka and lost to them in the second game. Pinedo is still their leader and three other Spanish players from European championship are there. Ziarsolo, who scored 7 goals in the first-leg match left that game with an injury. She left to Turkey with the rest of the team but might not play.

Quality and experience are on the Turkish side and there are a few more things that can see them get through to QFs. They are to play at the small arena in Antalia that can host more than 1000 people for free. That will give them a lot of fan support. Let's just say that the Spanish team was awarded 8 seven-meter throws while Turkish side only three and has had three suspensions more. Both referees are from Bosnia and the Turkish team will have the referees tipping in their favor today. Details

Home team are set to meet Holstebro, Middtjylland, and Viborg in the next games. They will be the underdog in them but not against Ringkobing, another team fighting to leave the danger zone. Before all of that, they are to meet Odense today. Today's opponents seem like the easiest challenge for getting some points. Nykobing need at least two, in case Skive lose all the games until the end, to avoid automatic relegation. In the first head-to-head in Odense early in the season, Nykobing proved they can stand up to them until minute 51 when everything went downhill and Odnese took a 5-goal lead by the end. Nykombing probably won't be making the same type of mistakes today and will have great help in fans. Home court is always an advantage for this team and has proven to give them extra quality. Teams much better than Odense struggled here. Agesen, who lead Holstebro successfully for 10 seasons, will take over at Nykobing as of next one which means this team plans to leave a mark in the future. The win in today's match will be one of the guarantees they're headed in the right direction. We'll go with the safer option. Details

The problems with players that continue to plague Viborg, a dense schedule, and playing on two fronts, those are just some of the reasons I believe we'll see a lower score in this match than the margin on offer. Kopenhagen's style and 6-0 zone defense only increase the value of under in this duel. They're a typical defensive team with great defensive specialists Louise Spellerberg and Pernille Holmsgaard, who were the central defensive duo for Denmark in the European championship in Hungary. Left back Anne Mett Hansen (their best scorer) is also an important player on defense, and as the season grows longer she becomes more efficient on defense than offense. The fact they're one of the three teams in the league who did not score over 400 goals, or 22.5 on average, point towards their greater focus on defense. Three of the four victories they had this season were won in games that had a 45 goal maximum. This is the fourth game in ten days for Viborg, they had little time to recharge batteries and one can hardly expect them to excel and push quick attacks when most of their first roster players play 60 minutes per game. Details

Two weeks ago Storhamar came out of a result crisis by surely winning over Halden who have a similar profile as their opponents today. However, in the last match they were beaten by current champions Larvik. Today they're playing against a team whom they've beaten twice this season, both convincingly. First time it was during the championship (37-25), and only a couple of days later in the Norwegian cup (24-17). Both time Storhamar were the dominantteam. Both times Fredrikstad didn't have a solution for Maja Jakoben (total of 17 goals in both matches), as well as for wing players Lisa Binger and Linn Birkeland. I don't see why a third win is not an option, especially when Storhamar are in a "must win" situation.
This season Storhamar are losing from teams in the upper part of the table, but are very convincing against teams in the danger zone. That's why the offered odds are worth on their minimum win tonight. Details

Aarhus proved that they can not only deal with, but also beat this opponent already once in the season. The situation for the win is now even better than the one early in the season. Randers played an European match Sunday and Aarhus are definitely better rested. Randers lack consistence at the moment and consistency at Randers is their key player Schumascher. The fact is, she's in decline when it comes to form. Starting right back Wallen who is third best scorer on the team didn't play the last game and maybe won't be there today either. That means Jonsdottir, who didn't play much this season, will take over at her position. Aahus are working better together and have no respect when faced with the best teams. They never lost by more than 3 goals, except to Mydtjylland. They beat Holstebro and played a draw with Viborg. Details

Byasen don't have the quality that guaranteed them the position of an eternal vice-champion of the Norwegian championship. Now they belong in the middle of the league table. What's more important is that Byasen kept their extremely aggressive style, but their defense got worse this season. They're the second most efficient team, with 30 goals, and the leading team when it comes to conceded goals, 29.5 per match. We can expect them to use the same rhythm as in the championship, and use the lack of time Radnicki's players had to adjust.
Another factor to weigh in is a parallel between the match Byasen played against Podravka in the Champions League qualifiers, played in Kragujevac in September 2014. They tried to surprise Podravka with fast transition, and Miranda Tatari accepted it, helping Podravka score 18 out of 31 goal in the first part of the match, and the Norwegians got stuck with technical faults (over 20). That match ended up with 54 goals total. Tonight, I expect Byasen to be more successful with scoring, and at least 4-5 goals more in Radnicki's net.
Radnicki are similar to Podravka, but with more experienced and efficient wing players, and the right back Janjušević who is in a much better form than Živković was for Podravka. They're convincingly the most efficient team of the Serbian championship, and in the previous round of this cup, in the first match against the Romanian Cluj, they played an away match that ended with 58 goals total.
With conditions today, I see this match with at least 55. Details

Tonight Podravka are playing the second bout of the match against Zvezda, at home. The Russians won by 3 on Friday (24-21), using their better counterattacking and successfully shutting down Podravka's perimeter, while also having Sidorova save 15 shots at the goal, which equalled the total of both goalies for Podravka. However, they did not leave an overall impression of being the better team than Podravka. A lot depends on goalie Sidorova's mood, and they use mostly Koroleva, Uskova and Marenikova on offense, who can be guarded much better the second time around.

We can expect a much better performance, primarily on defense. Coach Mrđen said before the match that he will look for their chance through defense, aggression, a game Zvezda are not comfortable with. In that context, goalie Kapetanović is in good shape, saving 16 shots just a few days ago in the national league against Zamet. I expect her to perform much better today than in the first match. More importantly for the match, since Miranda Tatari is injured, the organization of the game falls on Kristina Elez, who injured her knee two days ago and is now in question, so Marijeta Vidak becomes the primary option, and the perimeter is limited to just three players, Vidak, Živković and Trifunović. The second two are important defensive pillars, unable to keep up with quick transition, which is another bonus towards seeing a tougher match today. Details

Rostov come here as big favorites, but that won't be easy by far. Their form is dropping, as shown by their results in the Russian championship. Rostov were the only undefeated team by the end of 2014. After six rounds in 2015, they've got three wins, one tie, and two defeats in a row (23-24 against Lada, 25-27 against Astrahanocka). They still have the least goals conceded in the championship (360), but 22.5 goals per game shows the quality of their defense.
The Hungarians are why I think we'll be seeing an aggressive match without many goals scored. They're an experienced team, with some players in it for 6-7 years so far. Most of the starters are older than 30, the most experienced is Ferling, 38. Anita Bulath and Krisztina Triscsuk both played European championship, and are both the most efficient players this season. This team are consistent throughout the match, and don't allow many faults. Bulath played the defense exclusively at the EC, and was one of the best Hungarian defensive players. They're third in the Hungarian championship. Two out of five defeats in the championship were against the best Hungarian teams, Gyori 19-27, and Ferencvaroš 19-28, so both were under 50 total. I expect something similar today. Details

Second championship round and this is a game of great importance with both teams expecting points that are very important in the race for avoiding relegation. It's another reason for good approach on both sides. There are a few more reasons to believe in games under 50 goals.

Both teams are among the Top 3 most efficient teams in Germany, Bietigheim are second worst offense, Bad Wildungen third. They average around 24 goals per game combined. Bietigheim depend on zone 6-0 defense, while everything with home team depends on a single player - Laura Vasilescu. She scored a total of 150 goals, which is a third of all their goals in the season. Coach has around 12 players on the list, while Bietigheim have only 10. The reason are injury-struggles of key players. Visitors won the match with Cella after a substitute scored in the last seconds. First head to head ended with 44 goals. We can expect a lot more tension today, a clash of tactical plans, and limited rosters on both sides. I expect another match similar to the first one, at least when it comes to the number of goals. Details

Dalfsen, a team that won quite a few Dutch championship, are set to meet French defending champions Fleuri Loiret in Cup Winners Cup first match. When comparing the teams, the French have the upper hand since Dalfsen have not proper competition in the Netherlands for years now. The French league is two levels above the Dutch championship, in which Fluery play the role of favorite for the title. After 14 rounds, they have 11 wins, two draws, and only one defeat. Great number of players and individual experience is another advantage for the french team. The team has a lot of international players, mostly French and Spanish, with one of top three Brazilian goal keepers. The Dutch team are way too young this season. The changed 9 players ahead of it, with most of the team being made of young Dutch players under 20. They lost the semifinal at the Champions League qualifying tournament to Ferencvaros, and last year lost twice to Danish teams convincingly in the same type of matches, Holstebro (30-38) and Viborg (12-33). To summarize, Fleury are building a team that should leave a mark in CL next season and the Dutch youngsters cannot cope with that at the moment. I expect the French team to settled things in the firs leg game. Details