SALAMANCA (EuroLeague Women 2017) - As the curtain is raised on EuroLeague Women 2017, a strong focus will be on Pabellon Wurzburg where Perfumerias Avenida are ready for a stiff early test of their credentials against UMMC.

After their busy summer of activity in replenishing their roster, the Spanish side will get to tip off their Group B campaign against reigning EuroLeague Women champions and recently crowned SuperCup Women 2016 winners, UMMC Ekaterinburg.

The new-look Avenida head into the match-up after a humbling and surprise loss last weekend in Liga Femenina and hoping they can bounce back. They will have a rookie in Erica Wheeler on board and it has been one of the lower profile summer arrivals in forward Adaora Elonu who has hit top gear early. However, her current moniker of 'silent killer' could be under threat if she can transfer her form to what is her rookie EuroLeague Women season.

UMMC won the SuperCup Women title without the likes of Diana Taurasi who won’t be joining the team until 20 November so she can rest after a non-stop calendar year winning silverware with UMMC, gold in Rio and trying to land more success with the Phoenix Mercury. Meanwhile Kristi Toliver and Evgenia Belyakova have been busy winning the WNBA title with the Los Angeles Sparks.

Perhaps it gives Avenida an opportunity to possibly catch UMMC while they’re under-strength, although the reigning champions will once again set the standard and still have world stars in Brittney Griner and Alba Torrens.

Wednesday will also deliver a historical new chapter in the competition's history as Mersin Buyuksehir take their first-ever EuroLeague Women footsteps and they will fancy their chances against French champions Basket Lattes Montpellier Agglomeration in Group A.

In the same pool of teams, there’s a meeting of two revered Spanish play-callers in Poland as Lucas Mondelo re-enters a competition he famously won in 2011, with a stacked Dynamo Kursk side tipped to reach Final Four. They face Jose Hernandez and his perennial underdogs Wisla Can-Pack, who have switched the game to the Krakow Arena to accommodate more fans.

Also on Polish soil, there will be excitement for CCC Polkowice who will host Uniqa Sopron after two years away from EuroLeague Women. The game will see sisters Valeriya Musina and Raisa Musina play their first game together in the tournament and debuts for Brittany Boyd and Isabelle Harrison. Also in Group B, there’s an all French match-up in a repeat of last season's EuroCup Women Final as ESBVA-LM entertain Tango Bourges Basket.

Group A

Mersin v BLMA

Wisla Can-Pack v Dynamo Kursk

Group B

CCC Polkowice v Uniqa Sopron

ESBVA-LM v Tango Bourges Basket

Perfumerias Avenida v UMMC Ekaterinburg

FIBA