34th and final Matchday: Relegation battle goes down to the wire, direct clash for fifth place

Sunday, 7 June – all matches at 15:00 CEST, all matches live on Dyn and world-wide on HBL TV

• Both sides secured their Bundesliga status well in advance, with Bergischer HC doing so in the rescheduled Matchday 33 fixture thanks to victory over Erlangen. Sitting 14th in the table, Markus Pütz and Arnor Gunnarsson's side hold a three-point advantage over relegation candidates Wetzlar and Minden.
• After a run of four unbeaten matches (three wins and one draw), FRISCH AUF! Göppingen suffered a 33:32 defeat in the derby against Stuttgart on the penultimate matchday. The Swabians have ninth place secured with a record of 33:33 points.
• As DHB Cup finalists, BHC can still dream of qualifying for the EHF European League following Füchse Berlin's runners-up finish, should the cup winners (as expected) receive an upgrade to the EHF Champions League.
• Noah Beier needs one more goal in his final appearance for BHC before joining Hamburg to reach the 200-goal mark. Marcel Schiller is Göppingen's leading scorer with 172 goals.
• Göppingen won the reverse fixture 26:21 and lead the overall head-to-head record 12 wins to 7.

• Thirteenth takes on tenth in another meeting between two sides comfortably clear of danger. Eisenach were beaten 36:31 in Flensburg on the penultimate matchday, while Hamburg edged Wetzlar 33:32.
• Both teams will retain their current positions at the end of the season, with neither able to move up or down the table.
• Hamburg's top scorer Nicolaj Jørgensen stands on exactly 200 goals following the win.
• HSVH won the reverse fixture 33:29, one of nine victories against Eisenach. The Thuringians have won 11 times.

• Following Thursday's 39:38 away win at EHF European League champions MT Melsungen, it is now certain that Füchse Berlin will finish the season in second place. Ahead of this direct duell with third-placed Flensburg, the DHB Cup winners hold a two-point advantage and a goal difference that is 65 goals better than their rivals.
• Berlin sit on 53:13 points, while Flensburg have 51:15, but have also secured third place following their 36:31 home win over Eisenach.
• Mathias Gidsel needs just one more goal to reach 300 for the season. The Dane will finish as the Bundesliga's top scorer and could become only the third player after Kyung Shin Yoon and Marko Grgic to surpass 300 goals in a single campaign. He has already broken the record for goals scored from open play.
• Fellow Dane Emil Jakobsen leads Flensburg's scoring charts with 197 goals.
• Two Danish world, European and Olympic champions will play their final Bundesliga matches for their clubs before returning home: Lasse Andersson (from Berlin to HOJ) and Kevin Møller (from Flensburg to GOG).
• There has not been an away win in this fixture since 2022. Flensburg won the reverse fixture 40:39 and lead the overall series comfortably, with 26 wins to Berlin's eight.

• Regardless of the outcome of their final match, VfL Gummersbach will finish an outstanding season in fourth place and secured EHF European League qualification well in advance. Rhein-Neckar Löwen could still move ahead of Melsungen into seventh with a victory.
• The Löwen (37:29 points) won their final home match 29:28 against Hannover-Burgdorf, while Gummersbach (48:18 points) lost 38:35 away to champions SC Magdeburg on Matchday 33.
• This will be the final Bundesliga match for Löwen right wing Patrick Groetzki, who is retiring and taking up a new role within the club. Julian Köster (joining Kiel) and Dominik Kuzmanovic (joining Magdeburg) will also bid farewell to Gummersbach.
• David Späth currently has 314 saves and will finish as the statistically best goalkeeper in the Bundesliga. Haukur Thrastarson (207 goals) and Jannik Kohlbacher (202) are still battling for the title of Löwen's top scorer this season. Miro Schluroff has scored 175 goals for Gummersbach.
• The Löwen won the reverse fixture 34:32 after three consecutive Gummersbach victories. Overall, the Baden side lead the head-to-head record 24 wins to 11.

• Both teams lost on the penultimate matchday – Hannover-Burgdorf at Rhein-Neckar Löwen and MT Melsungen at home against Füchse Berlin.
• The Lower Saxony side (11th with 28:38 points) could still finish tenth, while EHF European League champions Melsungen will end up either seventh or eighth but are guaranteed European competition in 2026/27.
• Recken winger August Pedersen is currently the Bundesliga's fifth-highest scorer with 205 goals.
• The reverse fixture ended 29:29. Melsungen lead the overall record against Hannover-Burgdorf 19 wins to 9.

• Fifth place is on the line in Kiel. Following a surprising 30:34 defeat away to promoted side GWD Minden, THW Kiel now lead TBV Lemgo Lippe by only two points, while Lemgo also boast a goal difference that is five goals better.
• THW have 42:24 points, while sixth-placed TBV moved to 40:26 with a 30:28 win over Leipzig. Whether fifth place will be enough to secure European qualification remains uncertain.
• Lemgo's leading scorer Niels Versteijnen (202 goals) has exactly 50 more goals than Kiel's top scorer Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu (152), who is currently injured.
• The sides meet for the 84th time in the Bundesliga. Kiel have won 54 encounters, Lemgo 23, while the reverse fixture ended in a 23:23 draw.

• Can the second-bottom side secure survival in the final match against an already relegated opponent? That is the decisive question on the last matchday.
• GWD Minden produced a sensational 34:30 victory over Kiel in their most recent outing, drawing level on points with HSG Wetzlar (both 17:49). However, Minden's goal difference is 47 goals worse.
• SC DHfK Leipzig, meanwhile, were relegated to the second division after ten years in the Bundesliga following a 30:28 defeat in Lemgo and currently sit on 13:53 points.
• The league's two weakest defences meet in Leipzig. Minden have conceded 1,055 goals, while Leipzig have conceded 1,064.
• Minden recorded their only away win in Leipzig in 2021. They won the reverse fixture convincingly, 32:26. Leipzig lead the overall Bundesliga record 9 wins to 4 after 15 matches.

• Can HSG Wetzlar secure survival against the champions? The side from central Hesse squandered their first opportunity on Thursday in a dramatic 33:32 defeat away to Hamburg. As a result, Wetzlar head into the final matchday level on points with Minden but face by far the tougher challenge.
• SC Magdeburg were awarded with the championship trophy after Wednesday's 38:35 victory over VfL Gummersbach. The dominant league leaders (62:4 points) have suffered only one defeat in 33 matches – away to Kiel – and have won their last 12 games.
• Several players will make their final league appearances for the new champions, including goalkeeper Sergey Hernandez (joining Barcelona), Tim Hornke (retiring) and captain Christian O'Sullivan (future yet to be decided).
• Hernandez ranks second among Bundesliga goalkeepers with 295 saves. Omar Ingi Magnusson is third in the scoring charts with 221 goals.
• Magdeburg have won their last nine matches against Wetzlar, including a 33:20 victory in the reverse fixture. The two meetings before that ended in draws. Wetzlar's last victory came in September 2019. The overall record stands at 36 wins to 13 in Magdeburg's favour.

• TVB Stuttgart have won their last two matches against Flensburg and Göppingen (33:32) and now have 26:40 points. They will finish the season in 12th place, as even a victory would not be enough to overcome Hannover-Burgdorf's superior goal difference.
• HC Erlangen (currently 19:47 points) lost their rescheduled Matchday 33 fixture against Bergischer HC. In the event of a defeat and victories for Minden and/or Wetzlar, Erlangen could still finish level on points with either side. However, their significantly superior goal difference guarantees survival.
• Kai Häfner will finish the season as the Bundesliga's second-highest scorer. The Stuttgart left-hander currently has 248 goals.
• The reverse fixture ended 24:24. Prior to that, Erlangen had won five of their previous six matches against Stuttgart. The Franconian side lead the overall head-to-head record 13 wins to 5.