Matchday 30: Next round in the dramatic title race, next top match for Magdeburg

Sunday, 18 May:

• Mathematically, Potsdam still can stay in the league, mathematically, THW Kiel still can become champions: with 4:52 points, the hosts are eight points behind third-bottom Erlangen with six games still to play. The 26:29 loss at Rhein-Neckar Löwen was the third defeat in a row and the 26th in total.
• THW did their homework in the title race and defeated the recently strong TBV Lemgo Lippe 35:29 in a thrilling game - their third win in a row. However, the gap to the leading duo Berlin/Melsungen is still six points with five matchdays to go.
• Kiel's 27:23 away win in the first leg was the first clash between the two clubs.

• SG Flensburg-Handewitt have exactly the same starting position as their neighbours from Kiel: with 42:16 points, they are six points behind MT and the Foxes. The SG extended their unbeaten streak to five games with a 34:28 win in Wetzlar on Thursday.
• The second parallel with the Zebras: next weekend, the Flensburgers are part of the semi-finals of the European League in Hamburg, facing Melsungen.
• Rhein-Neckar Löwen recently laboured to a 29:26 win against bottom-of-the-table Potsdam and are eighth in the table with 33:25 points, nine points behind a European Cup spot.
• The Lions had won the first leg 31:29, before Flensburg had left the court victorious three times in a row. The overall record is 22:16 in favour of the SG, with Flensburg winning 14:5 matches at home.

• Mid-table clash in Thuringia: the team in eleventh place host the team in ninth, both teams lost their games on the previous matchday. The visitors are five points ahead of ThSV.
• Following a red card against the league's top scorer Marko Grgic (236 goals), Eisenach lost 26:34 to the Foxes, their second defeat in a row.
• VfL Gummersbach was evenly matched against SC Magdeburg right up to the end and lost unhappily 31:32 on Thursday.
• VfL have won the all games against Eisenach since 2003 (including the 34:32 in the first leg), with a total of 15:6 victories in favour of Gummersbach in the statistics.

• A Swabian-Franconian clash in the relegation battle: The fourth-last team against the penultimate - and both teams are only two points apart.
• Stuttgart have played 28 games, have 14:42 points on their tally and have lost their last four games, most recently by a clear 28:41 in Hamburg.
• With 12:48 points - and two games more than bottom-placed Potsdam and Stuttgart - Erlangen is second-last after SG BBM Bietigheim (12:44) won 31:30 against Göppingen on Friday. At the same time, HCE lost 23:25 against Leipzig.
• The first leg ended in a narrow 26:25 victory for Stuttgart, while Erlangen have a 12:5 lead overall.

Monday, 19 May:

• SC DHfK Leipzig has secured their place in the league. After the two victories against Wetzlar and the recent 25:23 win in Erlangen, the Saxons have freed themselves from all worries. Sitting in twelfth place, Leipzig has a nine-point lead over a relegation spot.
• Hamburg are two places ahead of SC DHfK, but have an eight-point advantage with a balanced account of 29:29. The Hanseatic team recently showed its hunger for goals again with a 41:28 victory against Stuttgart.
• With three wins each for both teams and one draw, the balance is absolutely even. HSVH won the first leg 33:32.

• FRISCH AUF! Göppingen missed out on early safe place with a 30:31 defeat at penultimate-placed Bietigheim, are 13th in the table with 19:39, seven points ahead of a relegation place.
• After beating Eisenach 34:26 on the last matchday, the Foxes are not only still top of the table (level on points with Melsungen), but have also extended their unbeaten run to 14 games in a row (twelve wins and two draws).
• In the previous season, Göppingen drew 29:29 in the capital; the Berlin club won the last two encounters, with the Füchse narrowly leading the overall statistics with 25:23 wins.

• TBV Lemgo Lippe lost 29:35 to THW Kiel on Thursday and currently sits in seventh place in the standings with 33:25 points.
• With the 31:30 victory against Göppingen in the last matchday, Bietigheim sent an important signal in the relegation battle. With their first win after four losses—and Erlangen's simultaneous defeat in Leipzig—SG left the relegation zone and is now level on points with second-to-last Erlangen in terms of points gained.
• In 2019, Bietigheim secured their only victory in five matches against Lemgo; TBV won the first-leg match 28:23.

• It is the 40th Hesse derby in the HBL. MT won the first leg 29:27, HSG previously celebrated two victories and the overall score is 23:11 victories in favour of Melsungen.
• With the 29:23 away win in the top game at the Recken in Hannover-Burgdorf on Friday evening, MT Melsungen not only secured second place, level on points with leaders Berlin, but also celebrated their sixth HBL win in a row.
• The debut of Wetzlar's new coach Momir Ilic failed with a 28:34 defeat against Flensburg, the sixth loss in a row for HSG, who are now just six points off the relegation zone with 18:40 points.
• Both coaches are Champions League winners: Roberto Parrondo as a player for Ciudad Real and as coach of Vardar Skopje, Ilic as a player for THW Kiel.

• SC Magdeburg's fortunate 32:31 away win at VfL Gummersbach on Thursday moved them up to third place in the table, one point behind the top trio from Berlin with two games less to play. It was the seventh league win in a row for the Champions League semi-finalists.
• In contrast to the defending champions, the Recken's top game against second-placed Melsungen ended in a 23:29 defeat and their sixth loss of the season. Like their table neighbours from Magdeburg, the Recken have 43 points, but have also played two games more.
• The Recken have won the last two duels against SCM 28:27, Magdeburg have only won two of the last five meetings, but overall the defending champions are clearly ahead with 19:9 wins in 31 games. Another defeat would probably see the Recken out of the title race, but still they have to play Kiel and Flensburg (both 42:16 points) for a spot in the European Cup.