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A clash for the top spot in the group

Vardar have a point advantage and with a win today they would make a great step towards the top spot in the group. On Monday they remained undefeated in Hungary, and now they have another away game in Barcelona where no one took away points in a long time

For the last few weeks, Pascual and his team have been preparing for the two games against Vardar which they want to win, and that would probably mean that they would achieve their primary goal, which is winning the top spot in the group and directly qualifying for the quarter-final. They weren't very happy in Barcelona with the fact that these games are coming after the international break for several reasons. The biggest one is that 11 of Barcelona's players weren't at coach Pascual's disposal in that period because they were all with their national teams, and there is always concern that someone could get injured or fatigued because of the great demands and loads of such games. That is linked with the fact that Barcelona haven't been brilliant this season, they are actually far from that. They showed on several occasions just how vulnerable they are this season, which caused some doubt in themselves.

 They weren't unconvincing only in away games in Lowen and, where they lost points, but also against other teams, especially in home games against Kristianstad or 'decimated' Kolding who kept them 'on the ropes' until the end. Their only good performance this year was against Montpellier where they reminded of the team that won the title last season. We will see in these two games against Vardar if Pascual managed to find a way to get them in wanted form or if they are capable, without Karabatic, to be a team that can claim they will be in the final tournament in Koln. 

On Wednesday in the Spanish championship they demolished weak Benidorm in order to gain some confidence. Pascual kept his planned starting lineup on the field throughout the first half so Benidorm scored only two goals in the first 25 minutes. It is interesting that, in captain Tomas' absence due to illness, Gurbindo started the match on right wing. Pole Szyprak also wasn't in Benidorm due to knee problems and he is questionable for today's game. 

The players that definitely won't be at Pascual's disposal are injured Sarmiento and absent Saric. Even though he announced that he would test Ohlander who will be three for a month as Saric replacement, excellent Vargas still spent the majority of time on the goal, and Ohlander got his chance in the last 15 minutes when the game was pretty much over. Pascual said about today's game that he didn't prepare any special surprises, but that the only thing he needs is the best performance by his players, which will, in his opinion, be enough to defeat unpredictable Vardar. 

- They vary in their games from great to very bad, and they make a lot of rotations so it is hard to prepare for them. Either way, we are more concerned with how we will react, so we are focused on our performance and if everything goes as planned, I believe we will win in the end. It will be very difficult, but we are ready for it - concluded home team's coach. 

Vardar have another test ahead of them today, but they have showed so far in the season that they can play anywhere in Europe. On Monday they earned a point at Veszprem, and we should point out that Gonzalez didn't use Sterbik at all, Milic was modest with 8/32, but Vardar still played a great game, and in the finish even had a chance to take both points. 

- We played well, we were better in the first half, but Veszprem managed to get back in the game. A great game in an Arena where it is difficult to play - said Sabate. 

The Macedonian team was lead by Dibirov with 7 goals and only one miss, no one else scored over four. With that Vardar became the first team that has returned from Hungary undefeated this season, something not even German Kiel managed to do. And with that they also confirmed that they can be dangerous when they are motivated. They are always at the highest level in the Champions League, we can expect Vardar with Sterbik on the goal today, and if they repeat their performances against Kielce and Veszprem, they can also hope for a positive results from this difficult away game. 

This is one of the crucial clashes for the top spot in the group. Varder currently have 10 points, Barcelona on less than them, and Lowen are trailing three points. If they win here, Vardar would be on the top and it would be hard for anyone to take them down. 

- I know Barcelona haven't lost points at home in a long time, but in my opinion, no one is invincible. We have to be careful not to lose the ball in the offense, because they have lethal counterattacks - said Dujsebaev. 

It has been clear from the start of the season that this Barcelona is nowhere near last season's led by Karabatic, but they still seem good defensively. They went into over in Champions League only against faster teams like Kielce, Kristianstad and Montpellier, while they struggled offensively against Fuchse, Lowen and Kolding, and today they are facing a team that can play strong defense. Statistically, Vardar have seven overs on this margin in 15 games, but most of them were in the SEHA League against weaker opponents and when they solved the game earlier, and their last Champions League game finished at 48 goals. If we look only at the Champions League, they went over this margin only in the debacle in Denmark, but that was their worst game this season and I am convinced that the same won't happen today. In other games, they only went over 55 against Kielce. This is an important game for them, and I expect them at the same level they were against Kielce, when they left the Polish team at only 24 goals. The stakes are high and points in this game are crucial for the fight for the top spot in the group.