After a valuable draw in Veszprem, Vardar are playing the last home game in 2016, and guests in "Jane Sandanski" are Celje. Teams have already met twice since September and Vardar have managed to take a win in both occasions in ‘Zlatorog’ Arena (40-29, 32-26). Celje are playing much better since their last meeting and it would be a big thing for them to challenge SEHA leaders in their own home. Vardar are the only team which hasn’t lost a match in SEHA League this season, winning 10 out of 12 games. Celje are also doing fine in their intentions to reach F4 spot in their first season in the League. They are currently fifth with 21 point trailing only two points behind second-placed Meshkov. Slovenians have 7 victories, four of them in away matches and one in Skopje, against Metalurg. A big help for them might be absence of both Ilija Abutovic and Joan Canellas, because of injuries but Vardar have long bench with quality players to replace them. Match is scheduled for Saturday, 20:30 CET. 

Raul Gonzales, Vardar coach:
This will be our third match against Celje this season. We've managed to win two so far but we should forget about that and use this opportunity. We are in a good moment, we have a draw from Veszprem, and are still holding the first place on the table, so we should play to win. We don’t have any pressure, because I think that we are going to play on F4 tournament for sure. We should enjoy this match and the hall should be full because we'll do our best to play a good match. It will be difficult, when you play against Celje you should give 100 percent, because they have great counter attack and they play really fast, especially their wings. Still, I am sure that we are going to play a good game. Canellas and Abutovic will not play for sure because they are injured, and we will see young Daniel Gjorgevski as our second goalkeeper.  

Timur Dibirov, Vardar player:
We want to continue with our series of victories. We are on the first place at the moment but we all know that it is going to be really hard because Celje are playing even better away from home. We are preparing seriously and are focused. We are not thinking about the standings, only about our game and our team. We are making progress every next game so I'd like to invite all fans to come and enjoy in a good match. After this one we will see each other in February. 

Branko Tamse, Celje PL coach:
Ahead of us is a match against one of the strongest if not currently the strongest possible opponent in Europe. We are aware of their strength, but in our focus and in our thoughts is our medical condition. We 've had quite a few injuries lately and at the same time we have problems with illness. The main focus will be on our health condition and players that at the end will be able to play. Only then we can think about tactics. Nonetheless, in this really though rhythm of matches we have to show our maximum on the court and that is the main guideline we have to follow. 

Vid Poteko, Celje PL player:
We are currently on the position that gives us possibility to climb up among top four teams and qualify for F4. If we would be able to surprise Vardar in their hall, we would get points that would give us a huge boost. Vardar have however already shown us twice this season, and they are proving that on every match in SEHA or Champions League, that they are one of top teams in Europe. We have to focus on ourselves, particularly our defensive performance. Defense shows strength of one team, but at the same time this hard rhythm is influencing this the most. Of course we are all looking forward to the break but before that there are still some important matches to play where we have to show our maximum. Only then we will be able to think about the rest.