Matchday 31: Magdeburg could be crowned champions and the relegation battle remains tense

Thursday, 7 May:

• After building a comfortable lead, FRISCH AUF! Göppingen let victory slip away against VfL Gummersbach, drawing 29:29 – but remain unbeaten in their last three matches. With 29:31 points, the Swabians are ninth in the table.
• Meanwhile, HSG Wetzlar pulled off the sensation of matchday 30 with a commanding 33:25 victory over THW Kiel – the second win in a row for Rúnar Sigtryggsson’s team following their 33:29 win against Bergischer HC. However, as their rivals also picked up points, HSG remain third from bottom, one point clear of the first relegation spot.
• Göppingen’s top scorer Marcel Schiller (currently on 157 goals this season) is five goals short of his 2,500th Bundesliga goal and one penalty goal away from second place in the all-time penalty goalscoring list. Schiller currently stands at 1,222 goals from the line; in second place is former Flensburg player Lars Christiansen (1,223), whilst Hans Lindberg leads the way with 1,499 penalty goals in the HBL. Philipp Ahouanmsou is Wetzlar’s top scorer with 149 goals.
• This is the 50th duel between the two clubs; Göppingen lead the head-to-head record narrowly with 23 wins to 21 and also won the first leg 28-26.

• After four consecutive draws, TVB Stuttgart suffered their second defeat in a row on Sunday, losing 26:31 in Hamburg. With 22:38 points, the Swabians sit in twelfth place ahead of the Baden-Württemberg derby, eight points clear of the relegation zone.
• With a 30:22 win over MT Melsungen, Rhein-Neckar Löwen returned to winning ways after three consecutive defeats. On 33:27 points, the Löwen sit eighth, just three points behind sixth-placed TBV Lemgo Lippe – a position that could potentially secure a place in the European Cup.
• In the derby, the league’s second-highest scorer, Stuttgart’s Kai Häfner (235 goals), faces the best goalkeeper, David Späth (276 saves), and the best player in terms of assists, Haukur Thrastarson (176), both from the Lions.
• The Baden side won the first leg 38:34 and lead the overall standings after 20 matches with 16 wins and 4 defeats.

Friday, 8 May:

• This clash between the promoted sides is the “top match in the battle to avoid relegation” on this matchday. Both opponents won last weekend.
• GWD Minden prevailed 32:28 in the East Westphalia derby in Lemgo, whilst Bergischer HC secured a 30:29 victory against Recken from Hannover-Burgdorf.
• In the table, the promoted sides are separated by two places and three points: BHC, in 15th place, have 17:43 points to their name, whilst Minden, second from bottom, have 14:46 points.
• Both teams’ goalkeepers are among the top 8 in the league: Christopher Rudeck (BHC) with 261 saves and Malte Semisch (GWD), who saved 231 shots. With 171 goals, BHC winger Noah Beyer is the tenth-highest scorer in the HBL.
• Minden won the first leg away 30:23; in the 2022/23 season, BHC won both encounters and also leads narrowly overall with 11 wins to 9.

• TSV Hannover-Burgdorf have won just one of their last five matches, most recently losing 29:30 away to Bergischer HC, and sit eleventh with 25:35 points, well adrift of the top and the bottom.
• In contrast, SC DHfK Leipzig have recently been enjoying a springtime revival: first a 28:28 draw in Kiel, then a 30:29 victory against HC Erlangen. Nevertheless, the Saxons remain bottom of the table with 13:47 points, and the gap to the teams above them has remained the same, as their rivals also picked up points.
• The top scorers for both teams are August Pedersen (183 goals for the Recken) and Franz Semper, who scored 129 times for Leipzig.
• Leipzig’s last victory against the Recken dates back to November 2021, followed by three draws (such as the 27:27 in the first leg) and five wins for TSV, who lead the head-to-head record 9:7.

Saturday, 9 May:

• If SG Flensburg-Handewitt lose and Magdeburg win, their title hopes will be over – though the SG have won all of their last four league matches. The second-placed side trail the leaders by seven points – on 21 May, the top two will face off in a postponed fixture.
• TBV Lemgo Lippe have not won in the last seven matches, picking up just two points during that time and losing the derby at home to promoted side Minden 28:32 on the last matchday. As their rivals for European places, Kiel and Melsungen, also failed to pick up points, TBV remain sixth in the table with 36:24 points.
• Niels Versteijnen (Lemgo) and Emil Jakobsen (Flensburg) are ‘neighbours’ in the top scorer list with 179 and 171 goals respectively; Versteijnen is eighth, Jakobsen ninth.
• The two traditional clubs are set to face each other in the HBL for the 75th time. Lemgo have won the last two matches against SG (both at home), whilst the first leg ended 34:33. Flensburg have emerged victorious on 36 occasions, Lemgo on 28, and ten matches have ended in a draw.

• Following their 30:40 defeat in Flensburg, MT Melsungen suffered an equally heavy 22:30 loss away to Rhein-Neckar Löwen on matchday 30. The North Hessians, in seventh place with 34:26 points, now have just a one-point lead over the Löwen.
• After celebrating their first away win of the season with a 34:29 victory in Minden, Eisenach seemed to have secured their place in the league. However, the bottom-of-the-table side have now been racking up points – a single point in Melsungen would see the 13th-placed side (21:37 points) finally free of any relegation worries.
• Swiss player Felix Aellen is Eisenach’s top scorer with 150 goals, whilst Dainis Krištopāns has scored 118 goals for MT so far. Furthermore, Matija Spikic (ThSV) is the fifth-best goalkeeper in the league with 240 saves.
• Last season’s 32:31 victory was Eisenach’s only win over Melsungen in nine encounters to date; MT had won the reverse fixture 29:27.

Sunday, 10 May:

• Ahead of the top-of-the-table clash between the record champions and the reigning champions, THW Kiel have lost their form, partly due to injuries. In their last five league matches, they have managed just one win; most recently, Filip Jicha’s team lost 25:33 away to relegation candidates HSG Wetzlar. With 40:20 points, Kiel remain fifth in the table, four points ahead of Lemgo and four points behind Gummersbach.
• With twelve wins from their last 13 matches, the Füchse – who have lost only to Magdeburg during this run – have staged a remarkable comeback. The Berliners had a bye last matchday, having previously won the clash of the chasing pack 28:26 against Gummersbach. With one game in hand on VfL, the Füchse are third, eight points behind Magdeburg and two points ahead of Gummersbach.
• Mathias Gidsel is only 39 goals short of the 300-goal mark for the season. Only Kyung-Shin Yoon (324 goals in the 2000/01 season for VfL Gummersbach) and Marko Grgic (301 goals in the 2024/25 season for Eisenach) have surpassed this tally before him. With 152 goals, the currently injured Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu is Kiel’s top scorer.
• In addition, two of the best goalkeepers will face off: Andreas Wolff (THW) has made 245 saves, whilst Füchse goalkeeper Dejan Milosavljev has saved 234 shots so far.
• This match is the fourth duel between the two clubs this season; Füchse won the first three: 34:33 after a penalty shoot-out in the Super Cup, 32:30 in the cup quarter-final and 32:29 in the league home match. Berlin are unbeaten in their last four HBL matches against THW, with three wins and a draw, whilst Kiel lead the overall head-to-head record comfortably at 33:10 and have lost only two of 21 home matches against the capital club.

• In the best-case scenario – Magdeburg win, Flensburg and Berlin lose – the champagne will be flowing at the GETEC Arena as early as Sunday. Following their only defeat of the season so far against Kiel, they have gone on to secure eight further victories, most recently a 30:26 win in Stuttgart. With a record of 26 wins, two draws and the aforementioned one defeat, SCM leads the table comfortably with 54 points.
• Handball Sport Verein Hamburg celebrated a 31:26 victory over TVB Stuttgart at the end of matchday 30 and sit in tenth place with 27 points.
• Exactly 20 goals separate the top scorers from both clubs: Omar Ingi Magnusson (SCM) has scored 203 goals this season, whilst Hamburg’s Nicolaj Jørgensen is on 183.
• Although SCM have won the last nine matches against Hamburg (including the 30:29 victory in the first leg), the overall record is almost even: HSVH have won 18 times, SCM 17.

• Will HC Erlangen slip back into the relegation battle? Following their 29:30 defeat in Leipzig, the Franconians’ lead over a relegation spot is now just five points. The 14th-placed side have 19 points from 41 matches.
• VfL coach Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson was really frustrated after the 29:29 draw in Göppingen, even though Miro Schluroff saved a point for the club netting for the equalizer with a buzzer-beater. With 44:16 points, the Oberberg side remain in fourth place.
• Schluroff is also the VfL’s top scorer with 153 goals; Erlangen’s Viggó Kristjánsson, who lost the clash against his father in Leipzig last week, has 137 goals this season.
• Since their return to the top flight, VfL have won all seven matches against Erlangen, most recently the first leg 33:22. Overall, however, after 15 encounters, the record stands at just 8:7 in Gummersbach’s favour.