EHF

Handball-Planet Power Ranking Gets TOP 8 Perfectly Right: 9 of 12 Advance, Balkan Predictions Almost Spot On!

By Editor

Posted on 30. October 2026.

All eight highest-ranked teams in Handball-Planet’s pre-season Power Ranking have qualified for the next stage of the EHF Champions League 2026/27! Nine of our original TOP 12 selections advanced, while our three leading title contenders – SC Magdeburg, Barcelona and Veszprém – completed the preliminary phase with perfect 6-0 records.

Our predictions for clubs from the former Yugoslavia were particularly accurate. Zagreb and Vardar finished exactly where we placed them in September, Partizan ended just one position lower, while Celje, ranked 24th before the season, finished bottom of the competition.

We also correctly identified the three teams that would ultimately finish without a single point. Furthermore, all six group winners had been ranked among our top 11 teams before the season.

Not every prediction proved correct, of course. PSG and GOG exceeded expectations, while Montpellier, Nantes and Pick Szeged were the three teams from our original TOP 12 that failed to qualify.

Still, the overall numbers are impressive: 11 of the 24 teams finished exactly where predicted or within just one position, while 14 finished within two places of our original ranking.

The preliminary phase offered a strong validation of Handball-Planet’s assessment of the European handball hierarchy before the season began.

EHF Champions League 2026/27 – Power Ranking vs. Preliminary Round

1. Veszprém – PR 3 → 1 (+2)
2. Magdeburg – PR 1 → 2 (-1)
3. Barcelona – PR 2 → 3 (-1)
4. Sporting – PR 6 → 4 (+2)
5. PSG – PR 11 → 5 (+6)
6. Wisła Płock – PR 7 → 6 (+1)
7. Aalborg – PR 4 → 7 (-3)
8. Füchse Berlin – PR 5 → 8 (-3)
9. Industria Kielce – PR 8 → 9 (-1)
10. GOG – PR 16 → 10 (+6)
11. MT Melsungen – PR 13 → 11 (+2)
12. Dinamo București – PR 17 → 12 (+5)
13. Pick Szeged – PR 10 → 13 (-3)
14. Zagreb – PR 14 → 14 (0)
15. Nantes – PR 9 → 15 (-6)
16. SAH Aarhus – PR 21 → 16 (+5)
17. Kriens-Luzern – PR 18 → 17 (+1)
18. Porto – PR 15 → 18 (-3)
19. Vardar – PR 19 → 19 (0)
20. Montpellier – PR 12 → 20 (-8)
21. Partizan – PR 20 → 21 (-1)
22. Kristianstad – PR 23 → 22 (+1)
23. Kolstad – PR 22 → 23 (-1)
24. Celje – PR 24 → 24 (0)

PR = Handball-Planet Power Ranking before the season. The final statistical ranking is based on group position, followed by points and goal difference. Positive values indicate an improvement compared to the pre-season ranking.