Due to the most recent circumstances, Croatian champions PPD Zagreb will get a chance to fight for the prestigious SEHA - Gazprom League trophy on what will be their tenth SEHA final tournament appearance.

Team led by coach Ivica Obrvan managed to finish the last season, which was far from good and satisfying, on a high note. Another national Championship and Cup title were obviously welcome but did not really satisfy the ‘Lions’ who, as a result, had an extremely active summer transfer window behind them. There are a lot of new names in the roster. Between posts they now have Filip Ivic and Dino Slavic, who came from Celje and Ademar Leon, respectively. Left wingers are captain David Mandic, as well as Valentino Ravnic and Davor Cavar who will fight for the remaining minutes. Right winger Vlado Matanovic will have a perfect opportunity to learn from the three-time EHF Champions League winner and probably their biggest reinforcement of the season - Ivan Cupic.

Their line is looking stacked with Croatian national team player Zeljko Musa, young Nikola Grahovac and Marin Sipic who will receive help from one of the best Croatian national team defenders from the last decade Jakov Gojun. Gojun should be the main man when it comes to the defensive side of the court. Talented Filip Vistorop and Karpo Sirotic will be orchestrating the attack, but they'll also have help from Zvonimir Srna, Matej Hrstic, Sandro Obranovic and Edin Klis on the left-hand side as well as from Luka Lovre Klarica and Csaba Leimeter on the right.

Obrvan has a much better team than last season, a solid mix of experience and potential, a machine which will surely need some time to start working the right way. Proof of that came in the Quarter-Final versus Vardar 1961. The Skopje-based team managed to take advantage of the fact Zagreb squad was basically assembled quite recently and took a four-goal win at home which proved to be enough for them to qualify for Final 4. PPD Zagreb will, however, have a chance to fight for the title and it is clear we can expect to see a motivated team which has nothing to lose and is willing to fight in Zadar.

Will that be enough to get past Meshkov Brest and play in the grand final? We will know everything on Friday, after all.

KEY PLAYERS

Ivan Cupic

Three-time EHF Champions league winner, three-time SEHA - Gazprom league winner, eight medals with the Croatian national team. What can you say more about one of the most talented and prolific wingers of his era? Ivan Cupic is one of those players who have what it takes to defeat an opponent on their own, take responsibility when it matters the most and decide the game. His qualities will certainly be a huge reinforcement for this PPD Zagreb team and his guidance will surely help younger players develop better and quicker. After five seasons in Vardar, he is used to winning whenever he steps out there and in case he manages to get all of his new teammates to think the same way, ‘Lions’ might have a good chance of going all the way in Zadar.

David Mandic

The fact that PPD Zagreb has a captain who is only 23-years-young says enough about what David Mandic means for his team. His maturity and leadership, strength on the defensive as well as illusiveness on the attacking side of the court have already proven to be of key importance for the ‘Lions’ on multiple occasions. Zagreb will in the semis face off against a tough Meshkov Brest team and it is clear they will once again need first-choice Croatian national team winger to be on his A-game. This will be his third SEHA Gazprom league final tournament appearance. Will it be third time lucky?