Matchday 27: The chasing pack can get up close and personal with Füchse Berlin

Thursday, 24 April:

• Following their two defeats at the Lidl Final4, Rhein-Neckar Löwen also lost their last Bundesliga game at champions SC Magdeburg 27:30. With 29:21 points, the team from Baden is currently in eighth place.
• SC DHfK Leipzig have even lost their last six DAIKIN HBL games and have slipped to 13th place with 17:35 points, seven points clear of the relegation zone. The Saxons celebrated their last away win at bottom-placed Potsdam at the end of December.
• Leipzig have won three of the last four duels against the Lions, including the 28:27 victory in the first leg. However, the home side is ahead by an overall of 12:5 wins, but are still without Ivan Martinovic, among others.

Friday, 25 April:

• Gummersbach have lost their last two league games against the top teams from Kiel and Melsungen, are currently ninth in the table with 28-22 points and have the second-best goalkeeper in the DAIKIN HBL in Dominik Kuzmanovic (226 saves).
• Promoted 1. VfL Potsdam celebrated their second win of the season with a 32:28 victory and are now just six points behind penultimate-placed Erlangen.
• VfL narrowly won the first leg 28:26 in Potsdam.

• Can the Recken turn things around after the defeats against Göppingen (30:36) and in Berlin (33:37)? These 0:4 points mean that Hannover-Burgdorf are now three points behind league leaders Berlin.
• TBV have won seven of their last eight games, most recently with a 41:29 victory over HSVH Hamburg. Thanks to this series, Lemgo has moved up to seventh place with 31:21 points. Florian Kehrmann's team proved that they can also beat top teams with a 34:29 win against Flensburg.
• The fourth-best scorer in the league, Renars Uscins (171 goals for the Recken), will face the seventh-best goalkeeper, Constantin Möstl (216 saves), who has just extended his contract in Lemgo.
• The Recken won the first leg 31:22 in Lemgo; both teams had previously won their home games in each of the last four encounters. The overall record after victories is 14:10 in favour of the club from Lower Saxony.

Saturday, 26 April:

• HC Erlangen have lost only one of their last four games, most recently 26:26 in Eisenach. The club from Franconia has thus caught up with third-bottom Bietigheim (10:40) on points (10:42), but has played one more game.
• After losing to THW Kiel in the Lidl Final4, MT Melsungen paid dearly for their 26:25 win against VfL Gummersbach - because goalkeeper Nebojsa Simic (239 saves), who has been outstanding this season, suffered a knee injury and will be out for longer, adding to MT's long list of injured players.
• After three wins in a row, Melsungen are second in the table, level with leaders Berlin on minus points, but have played one game less and can catch up with the matchless Füchse with a win in Erlangen.
• Although MT won the first leg 32:27, they have not won in Erlangen since 29 December 2019. There were two draws and two home wins for the HCE since then. However, the overall score is 13:3 in favour of MT.

• After the important win against Potsdam, SG BBM Bietigheim lost two games against top teams, first against Hannover-Burgdorf and most recently 28:32 against MT Melsungen. Because Erlangen scored at the same time, Iker Romero's team is now level on points with the penultimate side.
• ThSV Eisenach have not won any of their last five DAIKIN HBL games, but have drawn against Flensburg, among others, and most recently also drew 26:26 against Erlangen. With 23:27 points, the team from Thuringia is 13 points ahead of Bietigheim and a relegation spot.
• Eisenach's Marko Grgic continues to lead the DAIKIN HBL scoring charts with 218 goals, 130 more than Bietigheim's top scorer Gonzalo Perez Arce (88).
• Bietigheim's 35:32 win in the first leg was the only HBL game between the two teams so far.

• SG Flensburg-Handewitt have only won two of their last five games, conceding unexpected points in draws against Göppingen and Eisenach and in defeat in Lemgo. However, Ales Pajovic's team recently celebrated a 35:33 win in Leipzig and consolidated sixth place with 36:16 points.
• Following victories against Eisenach and in Wetzlar, TVB Stuttgart lost their last game by a clear 20:31 against champions Magdeburg. With 14:36 points, the 14th-placed team is only four points away from a relegation place.
• TVB's 34:31 victory over the SG on home ground in 2023 was their only win in 18 meetings to date, while Flensburg won the first leg 39:25.

Sunday, 27 April:

• HSG Wetzlar have lost their last three games, most recently against relegation candidates Stuttgart and Potsdam. Nevertheless, in twelfth place (18:34 points), the Hessians are still eight points clear of the relegation zone. HSG showed what they are capable of at home with their win against Kiel.
• Champions Magdeburg are still in the fast lane, having won eight of their last new league games, most recently 30:27 against Rhein-Neckar Löwen. With three games less than league leaders Berlin, SCM are in fifth place with 37:11 points, just one minus point less than Berlin and Melsungen.
• Wetzlar's last win against Magdeburg dates back to June 2019 (29:28), followed by eight SCM victories and two draws; the champions won the reverse fixture 35:28, with a total of 34 Magdeburg wins and 13 for HSG in the statistics.

• When Handball Sport Verein Hamburg plays, fans can expect a lot of goals - such as in the 42:32 win against Melsungen or the defeats in Berlin (35:40) and most recently in Lemgo (29:41). With 25:27 points, Hamburg are tenth in the table.
• FRISCH AUF! Göppingen are 14th, four places but eight points behind HSVH, having recently lost 29:36 to THW Kiel after beating Recken and Leipzig. With 17:35 points, Göppingen are seven points ahead of the first relegation place.
• Hamburg have not lost to Göppingen since September 2021, with four wins and two draws since then, most recently 25:25 in the first leg.