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This is a Russian duel in the EHF cup quarterfinal, and there are at least two circumstances that make me think Rostov have a chance to create backup for getting placed to the semifinals of this competition after today's match. Both teams played the Russian championship matches on Wednesday, and Astrakhanochka had a lot more difficult task. They lost to Dinamo in Volgograd (25-29), and lost the first place of the league table, which meant the best starting position of the playoff. The defeat wasn't problematic per se, but the way they played, their offenses weren't successful, and if not for Trusa on the goal, and her 21 saves, the difference would be far bigger than these minus four. Rostov played a routine practice against Universitet (35-17), all 15 players got their chance on the court, and all got almost over 20 minutes per player, so they'd be ready for today's quarterfinal. The second thing is that unlike the Russian championship where there's a limit on a number of foreigners on the court at the same time, there are no such limits in the EHF cup, and Rostov can count on all five they have. Astrakhanochka didn't have such problems in the championship, them having only two foreigners in the team. Speaking of the Russian championship, the ratio of wins is 1-1, Rostov won 31-28, and Astrakhanocka 27-25 by the beginning of the last month. Rostov have seven wins and only one tie at home this season, and with all things mentioned already, they're much more likely to win by two goals over the margin offered for the handicap.