Matchday 29: Top match in Hannover, Ilic´s debut and clash of the top scorers

Thursday, 15 May:

• HC Erlangen are already playing their 30th game of the season on Thursday - and are currently two points ahead of penultimate-placed SG BBM Bietigheim, which has only played 27 games. The club from Franconia has picked up three points from its last four games, but most recently lost narrowly 24:25 to Göppingen.
• SC DHfK Leipzig ended their losing streak with a 30:18 victory over Wetzlar, and another win at the third-last-placed team would probably see them rid themselves of all relegation worries. With 19:37 points after 28 games, the Saxons are currently twelfth, nine points off the relegation zone.
• Leipzig have won their last three games against HCE, with the first leg ending 32:25, and the overall record stands at 10:7 in favour of SC DHfK.

• Rhein-Neckar Löwen have lost their last two games against Erlangen and Melsungen and are currently in eighth position, but are already eleven points behind a European Cup spot with 31:25 points.
• After their second win of the season against Wetzlar, 1. VfL Potsdam lost their subsequent games against Gummersbach and Flensburg. With 4:50 points, the team at the bottom of the table is already eight points off the safety of 16th place. Relegation is still mathematically possible, but relegation could already be sealed on Monday.
• The Lions won the first leg 25:18.

• VfL Gummersbach have won eight of their 13 home games so far, including the last five in a row. With 30:24 points, the team from Oberberg is ninth in the table, having recently lost 26:35 in Lemgo.
• With two games less than the top trio of Berlin, Melsungen and Hannover-Burgdorf, the defending champions SC Magdeburg still have eight games to play this season and are one point behind the leaders. SCM have won their last six games, most recently 37:28 against Hamburg.
• This is the 60th clash between the traditional teams in the HBL, with Magdeburg winning 36 of them, including the last ten games (first leg: 37:28), Gummersbach have 13 victories.

• Handball Sport Verein Hamburg have won 18 of their 27 points at home and are currently tenth in the table, losing recently 28:37 in Magdeburg.
• TVB Stuttgart are 15th and in the thick of the relegation battle, just two points ahead of third-bottom Erlangen and four points ahead of penultimate-placed Bietigheim with 14:40 points. After two wins against Wetzlar and Eisenach, the Swabians suffered three defeats against the top teams from Magdeburg, Flensburg and Kiel.
• Hamburg won the first leg by a wafer-thin margin of 28:27, before that Stuttgart had scored 5:1 points in the previous three games. The overall score is 3:3 after wins.

• It is the third home game in a row for the Foxes, who have qualified for the Champions League final tournament for the second time. With 13 wins and one draw, the capital city club is still unbeaten at home.
• The Berliners have been unbeaten for 13 games and the defeat in Flensburg on 16 December, with eleven wins and two draws, and are level on points with Melsungen (46:10 points) at the top of the table.
• Eisenach, with 25:29 points, are currently eleventh and lost 26:31 to Recken from Hannover-Burgdorf.
• The two current top scorers in the DAIKIN Handball Bundesliga will clash in the Max-Schmeling-Halle: Eisenach's Marko Grgic leads the scoring charts with 232 goals, second is Füchse’s IHF world player Mathias Gidsel with 216 goals.
• Eisenach's only win in seven duels to date came in 2013, the Berliners won the first leg 41:35.

• Wetzlar's new coach Momir Ilic makes his debut against the European League semi-finalists. The Serbian replaced Frank Carstens on the HSG bench before the international break.
• After five defeats in a row (most recently 18:30 in Leipzig), the club from Hessen has slipped to 14th place and is eight points clear of the first relegation place with 18:38 points.
• Although SG Flensburg-Handewitt have been unbeaten for four games and have won their last three matches against Stuttgart, Leipzig and Potsdam, they are still six points off the top of the table.
• Flensburg have been unbeaten in 18 games against Wetzlar since 2015, winning 16 and drawing two in that time and winning the first leg 36:22. HSG have won just two of their 53 encounters.

• THW have the same starting position as their northern neighbours from Flensburg, who are level on points, six points behind the top duo. After the home defeat against Berlin, the sixth-placed team won against Stuttgart and Göppingen.
• TBV Lemgo has recently been a stumbling block for top teams, with a draw against Berlin and a home win against Flensburg. Lemgo have won three of their last four games, most recently 35:26 against Gummersbach, and are in seventh place but already seven points behind Kiel.
• With 250 saves, THW goalkeeper Andreas Wolff clearly leads the HBL goalkeeper rankings ahead of David Späth (Löwen/236), with Lemgo's keeper Constantin Möstl close behind with 229 saves.
• The two clubs will lock horns for the 83rd time, with Kiel winning 53 times and Lemgo 21 encounters. The last four duels - including the 23:22 in the first leg - have gone to THW, who have also only lost five of their 40 home games against TBV.

Friday, 16 May:

• After four defeats in a row, SG BBM Bietigheim have fallen back to the relegation zone, have 10:44 points on their account, but have played two games less than third-last Erlangen. With just one win and one draw at home, Bietigheim is the weakest home team in the league.
• FRISCH AUF! Göppingen recently helped out their neighbours SG BBM with a 25:24 win over Erlangen, but are not yet mathematically saved either: with 19:37 points, Göppingen are 13th.
• FRISCH AUF! won the first leg 30:25, their third victory in their fifth encounter with Bietigheim.

• TSV Hannover-Burgdorf are three points behind the leading duo from Melsungen and Berlin - and have the chance to close the gap against Melsungen.
• After the defeats against Göppingen and Berlin, Recken have recovered and won their last two games in Eisenach and against Lemgo. TSV have won twelve of their 14 home games this season, while MT have won nine of their 14 away games.
• Melsungen won the last five league matches, recently against Rhein-Neckar Löwen.
• Melsungen won the first leg 31:23, just like the two duels in the previous season. MT's 18 wins compare to nine for the Recken, who have only won three of their 14 home games against Melsungen.
• In Renars Uscins, the Recken have the third-best HBL scorer with 188 goals.
• TSV's next top match against SC Magdeburg is already scheduled for Monday.