The EHF Champions league in handball returns: review of group A

Paris Saint-Germain Handball and Telekom Veszprem considered to be the top favorites for winning group A in the EHF Champions League.

In the past weekend the EHF handball Champions League completed the groups for the upcoming season. In exiting matches of the pre-qualification tournaments, which were a perfect introduction to the new Champions League year, Tatran Presov and the Protugeese team ABC Uminho booked their visas for the group C and D. Many of you who like to bet on sports in EU were probably surprised by the epilog, but that is sport. Yet, what makes the Champions League in handball an elite sports event are certainly in the first place the occurrences in groups A and B, which from one year ago, after the new system of competition has been introduced are comprised by the greatest handball powerhouses in Europe.

In what will be the 23th edition of the EHF Champions League these two groups will offer us the best of world handball. We all remember the last year final thriller between Vive Tauron Kielce and Hungarian Veszprem in Cologne. What all handball fans want to see is certainly more matches like that in the upcoming season. The contenders for the throne are more or less the same from last year. And there is only one question that every handball fan asks: who will be the EHF Champions League winner 2016/17?

Group A: a terrific design

If there is a perfect manifestation of what “group of death” means then the group A of this year’s EHF Champions League is without any doubt exactly that. In the first place it is a group of three former EHF Champions League winners: FC Barcelona Lassa, SG Flensburg Handewitt, THW Kiel with the first two winning the competition in the past three years. As if this was not enough the group is also composed by probably two of the greatest favorites for the title this year: Paris Saint-Germain Handball and Telekom Veszprem, both final four participants from last year. Add to this the super attractive teams of Orlen Wisla Plock, Kadetten Schaffhausen and Bjerringbro-Silkeborg and you finally realize that the group A is a small Champions League on its own.

• Veszprem and PSG main favorites in the Group A

• Lazarov and Jicha to keep Barcelona among the top

• Kiel and Flensburg attacking from shadow

Who might win the group? Internet betting sites in Spain are giving greatest chances for ending on the top of the group to Hungarian Veszprem and Paris Saint-Germain. Their teams practically remained with the same base from last year strengthening further some points on the wing positions only with extraordinary players. In Paris that is the case with the super-lion Uwe Gensheimer while in Veszprem comes the Slovenian from Montpellier, Dragan Gajic.

Barcelona always on the top

Barcelona is certainly beside these teams in the top favorites group. This year they made many replacements by returning Saubich and bringing young players in their squat such as the left back Lasse Andersson as well as the French Dika Mem and Timothey N’Guessan. However a team headed by superstars such as Kiril Lazarov and Filip Jicha should never be set down from the top favorites. They always strike for highest achievements and won’t be satisfied with anything other than the Champions League title.

The German teams

But is it possible that someone dismiss the German teams from the top? Certainly not. As online sportsbooks in Germany state, their top teams might do not have the dominance in handball Europe they used to have five years ago, but they are still powerhouses that must always be taken into consideration when talking about top achievements. After the disappointing season of Kiel last year Gislasson will definitely try to return to the zebras the old shine of the champion’s years. Ljuba Vranjes, on the other side, won’t miss this opportunity to surprise us again with some super-attractive handball. And with a new Champions League title maybe? Well, who knows…