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Leipzig are the favorites and they should be able to show it on the court. It might not be a trashing by more than 7 goals though, as the conditions are not right. Their first problem is their squad depth as 4 players are injured, the last one being their right wing Diehl two days ago against Trier. The lack of players was partly annulled by the arrival of Alina Ioneac from Craiova last month but the Romanian international has just played in defense so far. They have experienced forwards Kudlacz and Visser who can score up to 10 goals per game but since they spent a lot of energy in defense and might play in the final against FTC, one can expect them to be rotated, especially in the last part of this match. Minsk's roster is better than last season, in which they also played against Leipzig during CL qualifiers and lost by only 5 goals. They have reinforced themselves with 4 Russian internationals. They also have experienced Belarus international, keeper Safonova, along with Kulik, Mazgo, Silitskaya and Arishina, who make a formidable team capable of getting at least the result from last season. Details

The first semifinal match in the group played in Leipzig brings a duel between the Hungarian Ferencvaros, literally a "goal machine", and the Dutch Dalfsen, who can transform the game easily, and whose matches often end with a high number of scored goals. As the Ferencvaros' coach Elek said, a team that prefers the Scandinavian style. In Dalfsen team, there are 6 Dutch U20 national team players, who won the 8th place in the last U20 WC in Croatia. Five of them are part of the starting roster, the team's leader is Kelly Dufler who starts all actions and prefers a fast game. They have good combinations with left back Smits and both wing players Steenbaker and Pavkovic. Add to this the experience of playing the CL they got when Debie Bont came, and she can play both right positions in the team well. Dalfsen played a big number of control matches with German first league clubs, and the last one was against the current German champion Thuringer, they lost 31-34. Bont scored 7, Pavkovic 6, Steenbakkers 5. FTC played four rounds in the Hungarian championship, three wins and a tie, and have 35 scored goals per match. In the last five matches, they have four overs and one under on this margin. They attach from all the lines, and the back Tomori, Steinbach and Pena definitely stand out. We have two teams that play to score a goal more, Dalfsen have nothing to lose, they are eager to play, and we can expect a match close to 60 goals. Details

Copenhagen have a problem with their squad depth, only 9 players were available for their last match against Ringkobing 6 days ago and they only scored 5 goals in the second half, which goes to show that fatigue played its part. The players that are available are those from their wide roster with limited playing time that are usually used to rest their main players but they will now spend almost entire 60 minutes on the court. Their characteristic, both this season and in the previous, were long attacks and very few goals from counters so now their average is 20.75 goals per game. On the other hand, we have Odense who will be without one of their top player and their top scorer Maria Adler (25 goals in 3 games). Without a player like here, Odense's already weak right side will be in even bigger trouble and will struggle in offense. Last season these two teams played two matches with 40 and 41 goals, Copenhagen need the points today and the only way to get them is through calm organized play without fast tempo. Details

We've already had Viborg on under as a value option several times. The reasons are well known, a shallow rotation, inexperienced bench and relying on tried and true strength. Last week they brought in left winger Henrieete Mikkelsen, whom they've pulled "out of retirement" and who will certainly be a plus on the rotation with her experience, but is out of form considering how long she's been off the court. This still leaves nine players at best playing both sides of the court for nearly 60 minutes, which gave a maximum of 50 goals in their matches in the last four rounds. On the other hand we have the rookie Aarhus team, who have several physically vry strong players, dominating defense, Palsdottir of Iceland as the central figure of defense, and Danish junior team representative, right back Mete Tranborg. Due to back issues she only plays on defense, they switch players in transition so it's not very quick. Aarhus are missing a classic lefthanded right back currently, so they're combining two left backs and one middle back. They were lacked goals from the wings in the past few matches. Aarhus went over this margin in two matches, the one against Kopenhagen ended at 51, but their last two against favored Randers and Holstebro ended deep under. The conditions for fewer goals are excellent here, and the only thing that could disturb this setup is an early collapse by Aarhus, but their game and toughness so far doesn't indicate such a scenario. Details

Based on Mdtjyland's game, the margins are recently being set for unders. But I think there's more than one reason to expect a match with at least one goal above the margin set for under/over. I think it will even be two goals over. Esbjerg have a very good offense roster this season, just like the last one, but with the addition of two excellent right backs Bjorndalen and van der Heijden. Grigel, two experienced wingers Kviesgaard and Kastrup, two pivot players, and Polman, league's top scorer last season. Polman has been having problems with an injury early in the season, she didn't spend a lot of time in the game so far, and didn't even play against Silkeborg. She was fit but the coach decided to give her some more time off ahead of this match today. That means we can expect her to be at her best level today. Midtjyland's game is built around a powerful defense but they've expanded the roster this season giving the offense more possibility to focus on that part of the game only. Right back and team captain Jorgesen is back on the team following an injury. The margin offered today was topped by one goal a week ago in Esbjerg's meeting with Viborg. Viborg played the entire game with only 8 players, trying to bring the pace down as much as possible. The teams meeting today have enough players to choose from and good-quality solutions for each and every position. Their head-to-head record would suggest an over too - 5 of their 6 head-to-head games in the last two season were overs, only one was under. Details

Playing a counter on Skive is still viable in this period, primarily due to their dense schedule, with four matches in a period of 10 days for both teams but Skive had one less day of rest and will have their second back to back away match in just two days, while Odense will be playing their third home game in a row. The second factor are the injuries troubling Skive prior to this match. With three players on the injury list being two backs and one winger, and the injured left back Jurišić being one of their best players, one more player from the rest of the roster is also in question. Odense won two matches against teams that seem better than Skive this year, the team has not changed significantly during the break, have no injury issues and have not traveled at all, having played three home matches in a row. The only concern is their inconsistent performance, but even with just 30 minutes of quality handball they managed to beat Nykobing by +7 in their last match, while they had +6 after the first half against Aarhus, who are the hit of the start of this season. As long as such margins against Skive are on offer where a + 5-6 goals are required, they're playable with this stake. Details

Upon their return into the top flight, Silkeborg are playing their first match at home, they are very confident after their win against Ryngkobing, they are very motivated but they have Esbjerg on the other end, one of top three teams in Denmark this season. They will have a hard time matchin the team with two strong and experienced player in every position, a team so strong in the back court, with excellent shooting solutions on the right back position, their new reinforcements van der Heijden i Bjorndalen. This will be particularly difficult now that they have to play 4 rounds in less than 2 weeks while Silkeborg have a poor rotation and are mostly relying on 2-3 players up front, which Esbjerg will deal with easily. Just for comparison's sake, Silkeborg have lost against TT Holstebro in preparations by 18-39, and have lost by 21-40 against Randers, two teams that are among the top in Danish handball. Esbjerg have a better squad than both of these teams and have even beaten Holstebro away in the first round. With their usual approach, I see no reason why this shouldn't happen, double-digit goal difference is a very realistic outcome. Details

A potential derby in the second round. After a draw against the reigning vice-champions Byasen (30-30) in the first round, Vipers are hosting the third-placed team from last season. Kristiansand have reinforced their ranks during the break with several international players, while Tertens have rejuvenated their squad and have lost their leader Lin Gosse and keeper Sakura Hauge, who joined Kristiansand, while they brought in younger players from local clubs. The average age in the squad at the opening game was 21. Kristiansand seem more compact, they have better international players on every position. They even have players with title-winning experience, players hungry for trophies. They have been among the top candidates for the second spot ahead of this season and they have a chance to show it today, so we can expect them to win by at least 2-3 goals. Details

I can't shake the feeling that Skive are a much weaker team this season in comparison to last year. The departure of their main organizer and top scorer Jana Schumacher and forward Stina Bodholt has left the team without their main assets, they lost the flow of the game and the easy goals that they used to get. They were terrible against Midtjylland, in the second round Nykobing were up until last 10 minutes and had only themselves to blame for the defeat. Holstebro want the win and prove their potential. They had two unfortunate defeats in the first two rounds, both time by a goal, but their rivals were Esbjerg, one of the candidates for the title, and Randers, a team constantly at the top, so one cannot say it was a disappointment. A very powerful team with explosive players like Kristina Kristiansen and Ann Grete Nørgaard, reinforced by Swedish internationals Hagman and Roberts, who increased the flow of their game, stable pivot Lin Blohm and Norwegian keeper Silje Solberg, who was the only dominant figure on goal in the first two rounds. The results in last two seasons shows that Holstebro have beaten Skive with ease as they won all 4 matches, by a double-digit lead in 3 out of 4 matches. We could see something similar tonight. Details

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Oppsal were a ninth-placed team last season, Skrim are league newcomers. What makes me trust Oppsal is their new squad with experienced players and their results in preparations show that. They have drastically increased their budget, brought new player and a new coach. Two weeks ago, they won at the Vest Fjorden Cup with 3 wins and 1 draw, beating the third-placed team from last season in the finals. Skrim are a mix of experienced players and talented young layers and have change more than half of their team during the preparations, bringing only young players that didn't have a prominent role in their clubs. At the mentioned Vest Fjorden Cup, the ended up as the last-placed team with 3 defeats and 1 draw. Details

The choices were under at the margins set for under/over and the win for Esbjerg. Since the odds at home team's win are plummeting, the first option will definitely be my choice. The reason for that is visiting team's game. The same nine players are always in the game at Viborg. Their back players are still very powerful, but the team needs Maria Fisker and her goals. The first round match with Odense painted the perfect picture of the situation and the current game that Viborg have. We should also note that their goal keeper had a brilliant day. She and her substitute Poulsen make the goal keeper duo one of the key segments on this team. Esbjerg are the team with high ambition, and play to win at the start to the season. They have enough good players to chose from, but the team need time to make everything work perfectly. Estevana Polman is not is shape yet, which is also good for the under. She was their top scorer last season, but is now struggling with an injury. Details

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Silkeborg had great results last year, but they need more good players to face best Danish teams. Their roster remained the same, if not even slimmer. They brought six reinforcements, but except for Stine Bonde, who was Randers' goalie last year, and Camille Maibom, who was a middle back for Nykobing, the rest are young players with minimal roles in their former clubs. They also lost three good players - the pivot Dragojevic (second most efficient last season), goalie Andersen and the experienced back Bendixen who ended her career. Let's also add they'll be without the right back Miriam Juul who missed the first part of the season because of an injury. The results of the pre-season show, defeats against TT Holstebro 18-39, Kopenhagen 21-24, the Spanish Balonmano Remudas 22-31, and a win against the same rival in the second match 27-24. Randers got bronze last year, and have been in the top of Danish handball for years. They changed their main players for the new season, but those are all young players with a huge potential. For example, Jane Schumacher is new in the national team, Lin Gosse is experienced in the Norwegian national team. The team has quality on all positions. Three players are out because of injuries, but their substitutes are experienced players. In the pre-season, they defeated one of the candidates for the top (Esbjerg), and before this match, they had an easy practice in the Danish cup against the third league club Sondermarken, defeating them by 22 goals difference. With standard approach, we expect the difference to be double-digit in this match. Details

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There are several reason for going for an under here, the crucial one being Vibor's performance. Their main problem this season will be their short rotation as Dalmose will rely on proven four players. Their bench is inexperienced, and even though some reserves might get a few minutes every game it will be limited. They will be missing their first-choice left-wing Fisker who played a major role in Viborg's offense. We can't expect them to run about the pitch and push fast counters as the players will wear out pretty quickly. Odense have made some minor alterations from last season and they were a team with an average of 25.5 goals per game and were among the top 6 teams to reach the playoffs, despite having the thinnest offense. Injury will keep their right wing and left wing out while their right back slot only has one player and their right side is too thin as it is. Odense's strength lies in central and left-back side and that's where Viborg will focus their defense. Both sets of keepers are great and are just an added bonus for this bet. Details

Italy are two points behind and have one less victory compared to Russia, but are in no way behind in their performance in this final tournament, quite the opposite in fact. The Italians lost against Belgium in a marathon five set match although they were superior on offense and had a +11 point advantage in the final point tally. That same Belgium team demolished Russia by 20 points the next day. Less than two months ago, Italy hosted three control games against Russia, winning two matches 3-1 and losing one 2-3 after the Italians had a 2-1 lead in sets. The timing of those matches favored Russia, as those were their main tests prior to the third qualification tournament for this EC, while the Italians just started their preparations in that period. Italy are missing two of their starters here, setter Malinov and middle blocker Bonifacio, who was not even a part of the team during preparations, while Russia don't have their starting receiver Cheremisina and middle blocker Konovalova, who played back then. Cheremisina was even one of their best. If we also look at the statistics for this EC, even with the two starting defeats they still have one of the most efficient offenses in this tournaments with 42% realization, while Russia are at 34%. Italy also have slightly better reception, while they are about equal in serving and blocking. The Italian opposites, two excellent players Nicoletti and Egona, are what should make the difference, as they're both in great form unlike the up-and-down performances of Russia's Grechanaia and Lazareva. Another balance changer is Guerra on reception for Italy, the MVP of the cadets EC last year, who has yet to shine at this tournament. It's about time she flashed today, as well as the entire team, as Italy have no more room for errors. Details

The Turks have a much better background - the previous generation won anything that could be won, and this one have the winning material, but aren't invincible. They only have the EC bronze as cadets, didn't get in the top eight in the WC, and lost to Serbia's juniors before this EC. Slovenia, on the other hand, definitely have a generation that belongs in the top eight European teams, they were 6th on EC 2013, where they lost to Poland after five sets, after they were leading 2-1. That same summer, SLovenia on the unofficial European championship in Utrecht (EYOF), where the eight best European cadet teams played. There, Slovenia defeated Turkey 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-23, 25-21). Both teams had almost identical rosters as now, Slovenian best players were the opposite Markovic, receivers Scuka and Sobocan, and the best Turkish players were the opposite Aroguz, the receiver Topaloglu, the middles Baladin and Zent, the main players for this EC. Slovenia were convincing in the preparation period, had good preparations, and two players from this team, Eva Mori and Scuka, played for the Slovenian A team in the European League. All players played main roles in their clubs during the season. This will be a much more evened out match than the odds suggest, Slovenia's win has a great value, and where the bigger stakes are available, you can bet on the covered handicap on points or sets. Details

A match between two worst teams in this year's Grand Prix, each have one win and five defeats. Still, there are a few details that make me believe Thailand will win. First, even though the least important, hosting the tournament played in Bangkok this weekend. Also, Thailand have been close to home for almost all three weeks. They played in Korea, in Hong Kong last weekend, and started getting ready on Monday. On the other side, the Dominicans played two European tournaments, started their trip to Bangkok on Monday evening, and had less than three days to adjust. In game, this is a match between the organized Thai team, who don't have a lost ball in the offensive, whose setters and forwards communicate easily, and have a characteristic speed in the offense realization. Their traditional problem is height, they lack points from the block, but that's compensated by persistence and lots of energy in other segments. The Dominicans are an extremely offensive team, have multiple quality options in the offense, aggressive approach to the serve, but their reception isn't consistent, which often causes lots of mistakes, something characteristic for this team in almost any match, especially against teams like Thailand. The Dominicans played only one Grand Prix match against an Asian team (defeat against China 3-0). The home team will get back the center blocker Thinkaow Pleumjit back for this tournament. She's an important link, especially in the offense realization. Details

Hats off to the Dominicans for the win and a big comeback yesterday against Turkey, but the general impression is that the win is more a result of the bad approach, lack of desire and lost focus of the home team, especially after first two sets the Turkish team won. Today, they're playing against Germany, who had two wins with no lost sets, a team with far better and more organized defensive and a very functional block, Serbia, two elements missing in the Dominicans' game, and those elements are great in Germans, plus the offensive service which constantly gave the Serbian reception problems yesterday. A big number of mistakes is characteristic for the Dominican team, as well as their inconsistency, something the German coach Guidetti will definitely try to use. Guidetti mentioned his team great work in the past five days in Ankara, and his team has some advantage here when it comes to time slots for practices, as well as the support from the media and the audience. Germany defeated Dominican Republic two months ago, basically when the preparation started for this season, and they didn't lose a set, so the best that the Dominicans can do today is to perhaps win one set. Details