Wednesday brings another exciting duel between top teams Hypo and Podravka. Austrians urgently need win, though, it will be very difficult to achieve against excellent team of Zdravko Zovko.

Last official matches Hypo and Podravka played long time ago. It was semi-finals of  Champions league in season 1997/1998. Hypo won both semi-final matches (18:17 and 20:19). Same season Hypo won CL title.

Now, it seems situation is different. Team of Andras Nemeth was defeated in Podgorica and Skopje; also they played draw in Ljubljana. After five rounds played in WRHL Hypo has five points. Austrians did not win in last three rounds of WRHL - they desperately need victory to boost their self-confidence.

Great form of Podravka

On the other side Podravka played four matches and gained six points – they were defeated only by Budućnost T-Mobile in Podgorica. Also Croatian champions qualified for CL with three convincing victories on qualification tournament in Spain.

On Monday Podravka Vegeta defeated Sesvete 36:23 (17:13). It was sixth round of Croatian Championship. Best player of the match was Anita Gaće who continued with great performances from CL qualification tournament. It seems Croatian champions are in great form.

For sure, match Hypo Niederősterreich vs. Podravka Vegeta will answer many questions. Winner will take second position on WRHL table and boost their self-confidence before start of CL. Derby of WRHL’s seventh round will be played in Sűdstadt on Wednesday at 19:00 hours. Referees will be Robert Krašna and Tomo Vodopivec from Slovenia.

I.A.