Will Andi Wolff lead Kielce to the final?

The handball season is also coming to an end, but not without a bang. The Final Four of the Champions League is still on the agenda at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne. The four supposedly best club teams in the world will battle it out for the crown of club handball. In the first semi-final, the Hungarians from Telekom Veszprem and Vive Kielce from Poland will face each other.

The betting providers tested expect a semi-final that should be absolutely on a par. The odds on the winner are very close. Both teams have already faced each other in the group stage and in that the Poles did better. But a semi-final in front of almost 20,000 spectators is a completely different game in which the clocks are completely reset.

The Hungarians are still waiting to make it big in the top flight. They have reached the final four times and lost four times, including in the 2015/16 season, when the title went to Vive Kielce. That was also the Polish serial champions’ greatest success to date. Overall, ahead of this semi-final between Veszprem and Kielce, the prediction goes slightly towards a win for the Polish top team.

But the semi-final is only the first step to the title. Either THW Kiel or the defending champions from Barcelona will be waiting in the final on Sunday. No one said that the road to triumph in the Champions League would be easy. If you want to win the trophy, you have to excel twice on Saturday and Sunday. In this first semifinal between Veszprem and Kielce, we are first inclined to bet on a narrow victory for the Poles.

Veszprem – Statistics & current form

For the seventh time Telekom Veszprem has qualified for the Final Four in the Handball Champions League. The big hit has not been achieved, but this team certainly has the quality to secure the title in the top division for the first time, and that only one year after former Kieler Momir Ilic took over the coaching post with the Hungarians.

Two titles already this season

There has already been reason to celebrate this season. Veszprem have already won the Hungarian Cup. They also triumphed in the SEHA League, an international competition for teams from the Balkans. The Champions League offers the chance to turn a good season into an outstanding one. In any case, it makes sense to take a close look at the odds on a Hungarian success between Veszprem and Kielce.

Last weekend, however, Telekom Veszprem suffered a major setback in the Hungarian championship. After winning the first leg of the final at Pick Szeged 29:28, winning the title in the second leg at home was basically just a formality. However, Momir Ilic’s team lost 29:30 at home and had to concede the championship to their big rivals because they scored more away goals.

Veszprem have to get rid of the negative experiences of the last weekend in order to be successful in Cologne. There are enough experienced players in the squad, so the focus will probably be on the semi-final at the latest when they travel to the Rhineland. Especially top scorer Dejan Manaskov will try everything, because the Final Four will be his last appearance in the jersey of Veszprem.

Predicted line-up of Veszprem:
Corrales, Cupara – Blagotinsek, Ilic, Lauge, Lekai, Ligetvari, Mahe, Manaskov, Maqueda, Marguc, Nenadic, Nilsson, Omar, Sipos, Strlek – Coach: Ilic

Vive Kielce – Statistics & current form

Coach Talant Dujshebaev has built his family dynasty in Kielce and brought his two sons Alex and Daniel to Poland. The name speaks for quality and that is why it is not surprising that they are ahead of the competition in the Polish league. For the eleventh time in a row, Vive Kielce have become national champions this season.

Strong form despite cup defeat

In the group stage of the top division, they secured first place ahead of Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Veszprem. That already shows the quality the Poles have at their disposal. Vive, too, will be looking to put the icing on the cake of a strong season in Cologne, even if the forecast before the semi-final between Telekom Veszprem and Kielce is only slightly in favour of a victory for the Polish title holders.

However, Vive Kielce also suffered a setback in their title collection a fortnight ago. After the championship was safely wrapped up, the cup final against Wisla Plock was still on the agenda. It was probably one of the worst games of the season for the Polish champions, as they lost 27:34 to the runners-up.

Kielce had to carry this bitter defeat with them for a fortnight. However, it was also the only defeat in the last 14 games. Therefore, the Poles will look back to their strengths on Saturday and hope that the match against Wisla Plock was just a slip-up. Iceland’s Sigvaldi Gudjonsson, who will miss the Final Four due to injury, will not be involved.

Predicted line-up of Kielce:
Kornecki, Wolff – A. Dujshebaev, D. Dujshebaev, Gebala, Karacic, Karalek, Moryto, Nahi, Olejniczak, Paczkowski, Sanchez-Migallon, Sicko, Thrastarson, Tournat, Vujovic – Coach: T. Dujshebaev

Veszprem – Vive Kielce Direct comparison / H2H-balance

To date, the teams of Telekom Veszprem and Vive Kielce have faced each other in 17 games on the record. The highlight was undoubtedly the Champions League final in 2016, when the Poles, led by an outstanding Tobias Reichmann, secured the title in an epic seven-match final.

Overall, the direct comparison with 14:3 victories clearly speaks in favour of the Hungarians. However, Kielce has won three of the last four games. This shows the development of the Poles in recent years. The last two duels took place in the group phase of the current season. Kielce first won at home with 32:29, but Veszprem could already take revenge in Hungary with a 35:33 victory.

Veszprem – Vive Kielce Tip

We can expect this first semi-final to be very close in the battle for the Champions League crown. In the Bet365 app, no real favourite can be identified on the basis of the odds. The direct comparison is clearly in favour of the Hungarians, but the Poles have won their three matches against Veszprem in the last four games.

Both semi-finalists have suffered a bitter defeat on their way to the Final Four. Veszprem lost in the final of the Hungarian championship and Kielce missed the triumph in the Polish Cup. On Saturday, it will also depend on who has coped better with this negative experience. We still think that in the duel Veszprem vs. Kielce you should be better off betting on a success of the Poles.

We don’t expect a clear victory, but rather that the Polish champions will only prevail in crunch time. Even overtime or a seven-meter throw seem possible in this duel. Therefore, we have decided to play the betting odds on the Poles advancing in the match between Telekom Veszprem and Vive Kielce.