HBL

SCM in action twice : Four catch-up games straighten out the table

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Photo: Müller

The highly charged Swabian derby in Stuttgart takes centre stage in the battle to avoid relegation, while the first team to be relegated could also be decided on Sunday.

While three teams from the DAIKIN Handball Bundesliga will compete for the first European title of the 2024/25 season at the final tournament of the European League this weekend, the league table will be straightened out with a total of four games before the 31st matchday. The focus is on one question: Will SC Magdeburg continue their winning streak in two eastern duels? If the champions win the two catch-up games this week against Eisenach and in Potsdam, Bennet Wiegert's team will be just one point behind the leading duo on plus points. Two neighbours in the table face in Mannheim, while the derby Stuttgart vs. Bietigheim is a pure relegation battle. If Potsdam do not beat Magdeburg, their mathematical chances to remain in the DAIKIN HBL are on zero.

Wednesday, 21 May:

Rhein-Neckar Löwen vs. VfL Gummersbach (19:00 CEST, live on Dyn and world-wide on HBL TV)

The Rhein-Neckar Löwen set an exclamation mark on Sunday with a 33:28 away win in Flensburg, their second victory in a row after the narrow win against Potsdam. With 35:25 points, the Baden club is currently in eighth place.
VfL Gummersbach are one place and three points behind them in ninth position after their 34:30 win in Eisenach on Sunday.
The 36:25 victory in the first leg was Gummersbach's clearest ever home victory against the Lions to date; VfL won in Mannheim in the previous season, but the overall score is 23:10 in favour of the club from Baden.
The fans in the SAP Arena will see two of the best goalkeepers in the DAIKIN Handball Bundesliga at the moment: Dominik Kuzmanovic has 253 saves to his name, ten more than Lions’ goalkeeper David Späth.
The game had been cancelled on the twelfth matchday because several Gummersbach players had returned from a European League game with illness and were unable to play.

Thursday, 22 May:

SC Magdeburg vs. ThSV Eisenach (19:00 CEST, live on Dyn and world-wide on HBL TV)

Magdeburg are rolling up the league from behind: Monday evening's 34:28 win against Recken from Hannover-Burgdorf was their eighth league victory in a row. Bennet Wiegert's team thus consolidated third place, one minus point behind the leading duo from Berlin and Melsungen.
Eisenach recently lost 30:34 to Gummersbach, but had secured their place in the league at an early stage and are in eleventh place with 25:33 points.
With 13 goals against Gummersbach, Eisenach international Marko Grgic extended his lead in the DAIKIN HBL scoring charts and currently stands at 249 goals. With 109 goals, Omar Ingi Magnusson is the best SCM scorer, while goalkeeper Sergey Hernandez has 252 saves on his tally after his outstanding performance against the Recken.
Magdeburg had won the first leg 36:26 - and have not lost a point against Eisenach in their last eight games since 2003 – the statistics include a total of 16:4 victories in favour of SCM.
The game on matchday 16 had been cancelled due to the fatal attack at Magdeburg's Christmas market.

Saturday, 24 May:

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

The 27:30 at home to Erlangen - the fifth defeat in a row - has put Stuttgart in acute danger of relegation once again. The Swabians are two points ahead of third-bottom Erlangen, but they have played two games less.
SG BBM Bietigheim are two points behind Erlangen and Stuttgart in the first relegation place and could therefore catch up with the teams in 15th and 16th place with a derby win. After winning 31:30 against Göppingen, Iker Romero's team lost by a clear margin of 21:33 in Lemgo on Monday.
This is only the fourth duel between the two neighbours, with TVB winning all three previous encounters, as well as the first leg (30:29) at the newly promoted club.

Sunday, 25 May:

1. VfL Potsdam vs. SC Magdeburg (16:30 CEST, live on Dyn and world-wide on HBL TV)

If Potsdam do not win the game, they will be relegated to the 2nd HBL in purely mathematical terms - given that they are currently ten points behind third-bottom Erlangen. However, the last results - 26:29 against the Lions and 22:25 against Kiel - were both very close.
The game against the bottom club is the last of three catch-up games for Magdeburg, who won the first leg against Potsdam 25:15.
The game on the fourth matchday had to be postponed due to Magdeburg's participation in the Club World Cup in October.