Matchday 28: Grgic vs. Uscins and Möstl vs. Kuzmanovic - top scorers and top goalkeepers in direct duels

Thursday, 1 May:

• The winner of this duel between two neighbours in the ranking will take a big step towards securing their place in the league. HSG Wetzlar are twelfth in the table with 18:36 points, one point and one place ahead of Leipzig.
• The hosts have lost their last seven games, four of them by just one or two goals, most recently 34:35 against Rhein-Neckar Löwen, while Wetzlar have lost four games in a row, including 29:32 against champions SC Magdeburg on the last matchday.
• The top scorers for both teams are Luca Witzke with 144 goals for Leipzig and Dominik Mappes, who netted 134 times for Wetzlar.
• HSG won the last two games against SC DHfK (first leg 31:30), but the Saxons had previously won five in a row. Wetzlar's last away win in Leipzig came in 2019, with the overall HBL record standing at 10:7 in favour of Leipzig.

• After losing 25:31 at home to Melsungen on the previous matchday, HC Erlangen are still second to last. Like SG BBM Bietigheim, the club from Franconia has ten points on their tally, but has played one more game.
• Erlangen’s home record against Rhein-Neckar Löwen is absolutely even, with three wins, three draws and three defeats. In the previous season, HCE won their home game 28:23, but the statistics show a total of 10:4 wins in favour of the club from Baden.
• The Lions celebrated a 35:34 nail-biting victory over Leipzig on the last matchday, which consolidated their seventh place in the table, seven points behind sixth place, which may be enough to qualify for the European Cup.

Friday, 2 May:

• In 75 duels between the two Northrhine-Westphalian clubs to date, TBV Lemgo Lippe narrowly leads the statistics with 36:32 victories - and also won the first leg in Gummersbach 29:27.
• The two teams are neighbours in the DAIKIN HBL table, with TBV in eighth position with 31:23 points and one point ahead of Gummersbach (30:22, one game less).
• While VfL won 31:27 against newly promoted Potsdam side on the last matchday, Lemgo suffered an unfortunate 29:30 defeat at third-placed side Hannover-Burgdorf.
• In terms of goalkeeping statistics, Dominik Kuzmanovic (VfL) with 228 saves and Constantin Möstl (226 for TBV) are almost on a par - and at the highest level. The best scorers are Niels Versteijnen (128 goals for Lemgo) and Miro Schluroff (117 goals for VfL).

• Eisenach's 34:26 win in Bietigheim means they have finally secured their place in the league and are currently in eleventh place with 25:27 points.
• Marko Grgic, who leads the scoring charts with 225 goals (and will move from Eisenach to Flensburg in 2026), will face the second-best German scorer in the DAIKIN HBL, Renars Uscins, who currently is on 181 goals.
• Recken returned to winning ways after two defeats against Berlin and Göppingen with a wafer-thin 30:29 win against Lemgo and are still third, three points behind Füchse and MT.
• Hannover-Burgdorf are still unbeaten in seven matches against Eisenach, with six wins (including the 28:26 in the first leg) and one draw in the pre-season.

Saturday, 3 May:

• After the 27:31 defeat in Gummersbach, Potsdam are still six points behind Erlangen and Bietigheim at the bottom of the table.
• SG Flensburg-Handewitt can no longer afford to slip up in the title race, six points behind the leading duo from Berlin and Melsungen; the fifth place team recently won 32:27 against Stuttgart and has been unbeaten for three games.
• Emil Jakobsen (Flensburg) is currently the fourth-best DAIKIN HBL scorer with 180 goals.
• The 39:22 win in the first leg was Flensburg's clearest victory of the season to date.

Sunday, 4 May:

• Three days after the away game in Erlangen, the Lions travel to Kassel - and both teams will be without their best players of the season for a long term: Melsungen are without goalkeeper Nebojsa Simic, the Lions without their top scorer Ivan Martinovic.
• Both teams were on court at the Lidl Final4 in Cologne, with Melsungen losing the final against Kiel and Rhein-Neckar Löwen finishing fourth.
• Melsungen have won their last four DAIKIN HBL games, most recently 31:25 in Erlangen, and are second in the table, level on points with leaders Füchse Berlin (44:10).
• The Lions won the first leg 31:26 and also lead the overall record against MT with 28:10 victories.

• FRISCH AUF! Göppingen can take an important step avoiding relegation with a win against Erlangen; the Swabians are currently 14th, seven points ahead of the penultimate-placed team from Franconia.
• Göppingen recently suffered two defeats against the northern clubs Hamburg and Kiel, but previously won in Hanover and against Leipzig.
• Erlangen faced against the Lions on Thursday.
• The 28:24 win in the first leg on 29 November was Erlangen's second win of the season, but FRISCH AUF! has a total of 18:7 victories.

• League leaders against relegation candidates: While the Füchse are tied on points with Melsungen for the first title, Bietigheim are in 16th place.
• Berlin's former player Iker Romero is returning to the Foxes’ Den as coach of SG BBM Bietigheim. The Spaniard will also take over the Austrian national team from June as the successor to Ales Pajovic (coach in Flensburg since January).
• SG BBM lost 25:31 to Melsungen on the previous matchday, while the Foxes were without a game.
• The Füchse trio of Mathias Gidsel (206 goals), Tim Freihöfer (165) and Lasse Andersson (137) scored a total of 508 goals, just 199 goals fewer than the entire Bietigheim team (707).

• TVB Stuttgart are fighting against relegation, while cup winners Kiel are fighting to keep up with the leaders: With 14:38 points, the Swabians are only four points ahead of penultimate-placed Erlangen, while THW are six points behind the top duo Berlin/Melsungen in sixth place.
• Kiel were without a game last weekend, after winning 36:29 in Göppingen, while Stuttgart recently lost to the top clubs from Magdeburg and Flensburg.
• THW have a spotless record against TVB, winning all 19 games so far, with the first leg ending 29:24.

• SC Magdeburg is rolling up the field from behind: Thanks to nine wins in the last ten games (defeated only by Berlin), the defending champions are now in fourth place with 39:11 points - just one point behind the top duo with two games less. The most recent win was a 32:29 in Wetzlar.
• SCM have a total of five league games between 15 and 28 May.
• Handball Sport Verein Hamburg is currently in tenth place with a balanced points account (27:27 points); HSVH won 31:30 against Göppingen on the last matchday.
• Magdeburg has won all seven HBL games against Hamburg since December 2021, with the first leg ending in a 32:26 victory. Overall, however, HSVH leads with 18:15 wins.