Eight teams aim to keep #CLVolleyM dream alive

The second round of this season’s CEV Champions League Men competitions is set to deliver intense matchups as eight teams from eight different countries compete for a spot in the next phase, with only two sides making it into the fourth round. Each fixture will be decided in a home-and-away format, with aggregate winners advancing.

Croatian side MOK Mursa Osijek will tip off the second round, as they face Bulgarian powerhouse Levski Sofia, as both sides will make their debut in the European premium competition, after receiving a bye in the first round.

Levski will certainly aim to make back-to-back appearances in the fourth round of the competition, after last season they ended their pool on the fourth place, with a single win and five losses.

Olympiacos Piraeus will aim to make yet another step towards the fourth round of the competition, after last season’s antics, when they secured a place in the quarter-finals and were only three sets away of the Final Four. This season they conceded only 47 and 51 points respectively in the first round against Bosnian side Napredak Odžak, which they won in straight sets in both matches.

Between them and the third round sit Guaguas Las Palmas, the Spanish side which eliminated Hungarian side MÁV Foxconn Székesfehérvár, with a 3:1 away win and a 3:0 home win in the previous round.

Romanian side Dinamo București and Slovenian side ACH Volley Ljubljana will probably deliver the most intense pairing in the competition, as Ljubljana are aiming to come back into the 4th round. Nevertheless, Dinamo, which won the Romanian league after more than 30 years, have won both matches in the previous round against OK Strumica in straight sets.

Serbian team Radnički Kragujevac, which has dished straight sets wins against Azerrail Baku in the previous round, look to be favoured against TSV Raiffeisen Hartberg, which needed a golden set against Akaa Volley, 15:13, after the two teams split the wins.