HBL

Preview Matchday 7: Winless vs. undefeated, champions travel to surprise team

Friday, October 3, 2025

Photo: Trotter

First the cup, now back to the league – that’s the weekly schedule for several teams in the DAIKIN Handball-Bundesliga. After the second round of the German Cup was played from Tuesday to Thursday, the seventh DAIKIN HBL matchday begins on Saturday.

The still winless Leipzig side will host the still undefeated Flensburg in the seventh round of the DAIKIN Handball-Bundesliga. League leaders THW Kiel host the Rhein-Neckar Löwen at home, where the two German national team goalkeepers will face. Recently in Cairo, now in Hamburg – that’s the setting for the top match of runners-up SC Magdeburg. Meanwhile, Gummersbach (in Eisenach) and Lemgo (in Minden) look to extend their winning streaks. Surprise package Erlangen challenge champions Füchse Berlin.

Saturday, October 4:

SC DHfK Leipzig vs. SG Flensburg-Handewitt (18:00 CEST, live on Dyn and world-wide on HBL TV)

After the 24:30 defeat at Rhein-Neckar Löwen, Leipzig, second to last in the DAIKIN HBL, are still waiting for their first victory after six league games.
In the cup, however, coach Raul Alonso’s team managed a breakthrough with a 28:26 away win in Göppingen.
Flensburg are unbeaten in second place behind Kiel with four wins and two draws; the 32:26 win against Göppingen was their fourth straight victory.
Flensburg also extended their winning streak in the cup against Rhein-Neckar Löwen, winning 38:32 thanks to 17 saves from goalkeeper Benjamin Buric.
DHB national player Luca Witzke returns to his former club with Flensburg.
The two top scorers of both sides are almost tied in the DAIKIN HBL scoring charts: Emil Jacobsen has scored 36 times for SG, Blær Hinriksson 34 times for Leipzig.
Leipzig’s last two wins against Flensburg came in 2022; since then, SG have won the next five matches. Overall, Flensburg lead the head-to-head with 16–3 wins.

FRISCH AUF! Göppingen vs. TSV Hannover-Burgdorf (19:00 CEST, live on Dyn and world-wide on HBL TV)

FRISCH AUF! Göppingen have been waiting for their second win of the season for three games, most recently losing 26:32 in Flensburg – with 5:7 points they are in twelfth place.
Recken haven’t found the same momentum as last year; the 26:32 home defeat to Erlangen was already their fourth of the season. With 4:8 points, Hannover-Burgdorf are 14th.
Göppingen have already been eliminated from the cup after a 26:28 defeat to Leipzig, while Hanover took a dominant 38:22 win at Bayer Dormagen.
The top scorers for both teams in the DAIKIN HBL are Ludvig Hallbäck with 30 goals for the hosts and Marius Steinhauser with 33 goals for the Recken.
The last six duels between the clubs ended 3–3, with both teams winning away last season. The overall record is also completely even: 15 wins each and two draws.

GWD Minden vs. TBV Lemgo (19:00 CEST, live on Dyn and world-wide on HBL TV)

GWD Minden have collected just three points from seven DAIKIN HBL matches so far, losing their last three (most recently 28:39 in Wetzlar) and currently rank 16th.
TBV Lemgo extended their unbeaten run to five matches with a 28:25 win against Bergischer HC and sit fifth in the table.
With 37 goals, Tim Suton is Lemgo’s top scorer, while goalkeeper Constantin Möstl’s 45 saves are another key reason for their strong run. Two Minden players are similarly impressive statistically: Karolis Antanavičius has scored 35 goals, and goalkeeper Malte Semisch has made 50 saves.
In the cup, Lemgo advanced to the round of 16 with a comprehensive 36:25 win in Hagen, while Minden were eliminated after a 26:28 home defeat against Eisenach.
Two of the last three East Westphalia derbies were won by GWD, but overall the record is clear: 12 wins for Minden, 36 for TBV.

HC Erlangen vs. Füchse Berlin (20:00 CEST, live on Dyn and world-wide on HBL TV)

HC Erlangen are on a real roll: against top clubs Melsungen and Magdeburg they secured two draws, and most recently celebrated a 32:26 win at Hannover-Burgdorf.
Under new coach Nicolej Krickau, Füchse recently picked up two wins against Eisenach and Melsungen after a disappointing start with defeats to Magdeburg and Gummersbach. With 8:4 points, the German champions are currently sixth.
In the cup, Erlangen’s streak came to a sudden halt with a 32:35 defeat to second-division side Nordhorn-Lingen, while Füchse advanced with a 35:30 win against Wetzlar.
A key factor in Erlangen’s success is 36-goal scorer Marek Nissen – though he trails Füchse’s World Handball Player Mathias Gidsel by 15, who leads the DAIKIN HBL scoring list with 51 goals.
The last game between Erlangen and Berlin ended 31:31 last season; before that, Füchse had won eight in a row since May 2021. Erlangen’s only two wins over Füchse came at home (2019 and 2021). The overall record is clearly in favor of the capital club: 15–2.

Sunday, October 5:

Handball Sport Verein Hamburg vs. SC Magdeburg (15:00 CEST, live on Dyn and world-wide on HBL TV)

Hamburg have not won in their last three DAIKIN HBL matches and, after a 28:32 defeat in Melsungen on matchday six, sit in 11th place.
SC Magdeburg missed the final at the Club World Championship on Tuesday after a 20:23 defeat against defending champions Veszprem from Hungary – and due to their appearance in Cairo will only play their cup match at neighbours Dessau-Roßlauer HV on October 21.
HSVH also stumbled in the cup, with Torsten Jansen’s team losing 46:47 after two periods of extra time against second-division side HC Elbflorenz.
Omar Ingi Magnusson, despite one fewer game, is second in the DAIKIN HBL scoring list with 49 goals, level with Kiel’s Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu and Stuttgart’s Kai Häfner. With 56 saves in five games, SCM goalkeeper Sergej Hernandez is currently the league’s fourth-best keeper.
Nicolaj Jørgensen leads HSVH’s scoring list with 39 goals.
SCM have won the last eight matches against HSVH since December 2021. However, Hamburg still lead the all-time record 18–16.

THW Kiel vs. Rhein-Neckar Löwen (16:30 CEST, live on Dyn and world-wide on HBL TV)

Six games, six wins, 12:0 points – that’s the flawless record of THW Kiel, who most recently won 33:25 at promoted GWD Minden.
Mannheim are seventh in the table with 8:4 points after their 30:24 win against Leipzig.
In Kiel, the two currently best goalkeepers of the DAIKIN HBL, who also form the national team duo, face each other: David Späth (Löwen) with 66 saves, Andreas Wolff (THW) with 63.
The top scorers are Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu (Kiel) with 49 goals and Jannick Kohlbacher with 30 for Mannheim.
The Löwen lost the cup’s second-round top match at home against Flensburg, the former club of their coach Maik Machulla, by 32:38. As defending cup winners, Kiel had a bye and will only enter in the round of 16.
Last season, both Kiel and Löwen won their home games. The Löwen’s last league away win in Kiel was on December 21, 2016 (29:26). Kiel’s home record against the Löwen stands at 17–3; overall, it’s 29–11 in favour of the Zebras.

ThSV Eisenach vs. VfL Gummersbach (16:30 CEST, live on Dyn and world-wide on HBL TV)

ThSV Eisenach recently lost 23:35 at Füchse and are 15th with 4:8 points.
VfL Gummersbach, alongside Lemgo, are currently the surprise team of the DAIKIN HBL and are in third place after three straight wins; on matchday six they defeated Stuttgart 33:26.
Two new signings are the top scorers for both clubs: Max Beneke has scored 27 times for Eisenach, Kay Smits 29 for Gummersbach.
Gummersbach took a clear 32:21 win at second-division leaders TV Hüttenberg in the second round of the cup, while Eisenach also advanced to the round of 16 after a 28:26 win in Minden.
Since 2003, Gummersbach have won all ten encounters against Eisenach. Four of Eisenach’s six wins against VfL came at home. Overall, Gummersbach lead the record 16–6.

TVB Stuttgart vs. MT Melsungen (18:00 CEST, live on Dyn and world-wide on HBL TV)

TVB Stuttgart have picked up only one point from their last three games, most recently losing 26:33 to Gummersbach, and are 13th in the DAIKIN HBL.
MT Melsungen most recently won 32:28 against Hamburg and, with one more point, are three positions ahead of Stuttgart in 10th.
49 of Stuttgart’s 174 goals have been scored by Kai Häfner; Dainis Krištopāns is MT’s top scorer with 32.
Stuttgart defeated TV Emsdetten in the cup and advanced to the round of 16. As last season’s cup finalists, Melsungen had a bye and will only enter in the round of 16.
Last season, MT won both games against Stuttgart; before that came Stuttgart’s last of eight wins. Melsungen lead the all-time record with 11 victories.