Frontrunner and underdog – women's handball team face Bucuresti

At first glance, the table is deceptive. Opponents CSM București, the 2016 top-flight champions, have only had a modest start to the season: one win and two defeats - that's just about good enough to be fifth in the table. BVB's women's handball team enter matchday four of the Champions League as frontrunners, but BVB coach André Fuhr has made it clear before the game against București that the visitors from the Romanian capital are coming over as favourites: "An opponent of world-class calibre awaits us. Cristina Neagu is a multiple world handball champion, and Elizabeth Omoregie in the centre is an absolutely exceptional player," explained Fuhr. "Besides, the underdog status is gone, at least on paper. Nobody underestimates us anymore - that doesn't make it any easier."      

Nevertheless, or perhaps precisely for this very reason: "We are really looking forward to the game," Fuhr made clear. 50-year-old Fuhr described how although the 27-20 win in their Bundesliga game against Halle-Neustadt on Wednesday was extremely difficult, he also learned some important lessons: "We have to play more precisely and patiently on Sunday than we did against Halle. And we have to increase our rate of easy chances scored, otherwise it'll be very difficult for us. Good defensive and goalkeeping displays will also be important."    

Preparations for the game against București were restricted for the Black & Yellows. "We did some strength training, isolated match-balancing exercises, and some running," said Fuhr. All of those who played on Wednesday are available again for the game against CSM. "No one else is missing. But we need to make sure we build players like Mia Zschocke and Fatos Kücükyildiz back up carefully when they are just returning from injury - especially looking at the many other tasks that await us in the next few weeks."      

500 spectators are allowed in for the Champions League game. There are still tickets available at the box office for Sunday's game. A standard ticket costs 10 euros - children, pupils, students, and those severely handicapped can purchase a discounted ticket for 5 euros with appropriate ID. Masks are complusory in the hall and may only be removed when you reach your allocated seat. Seats will be allocated on site. Only immunised (i.e., vaccinated or recovered) people are allowed to enter. Children and adolescents up to the age of 17, as well as pregnant women, are exempt from this rule. In this case, an official negative rapid test, which must not be older than 48 hours, is sufficient.