11th Matchday: Leaders host the giant killers, bottom club face the foxes

Saturday, 8 November:

• GWD Minden have lost four of their last five matches, their only win coming against Hannover. With 5:17 points, they sit 15th in the table.
• Melsungen’s form is the exact opposite: four wins in their last five, most recently ending Lemgo’s good run with a 28:22 victory. They sit ninth with 9:11 points.
• In one statistic, however, Minden are ahead: Mate Semisch, with 76 saves, is currently the sixth-best goalkeeper in the league.
• Melsungen have won the last three duels and lead the head-to-head 17–7.
• On Wednesday, Melsungen scraped through their Cup tie with a 32:30 extra-time win against second-division side Elbflorenz; they’ll face Bergischer HC in the quarter-finals.

• Eisenach had no chance in their Cup match on Thursday, losing 22:38 at Füchse Berlin.
• After a 30:36 defeat at leaders Flensburg, Erlangen sit 11th with 8:12 points.
• Eisenach, who beat fellow promoted side Minden 33:28 last time out, have the same record and are one place below.
• Viggó Kristjánsson leads Erlangen’s scorer list with 57 goals, five more than Eisenach’s top scorer Felix Aellen (52). Erlangen’s Marek Nissen is in between with 55.
• The two sides meet for only the fifth time; last season saw one Eisenach win and one draw. Erlangen’s only victory came in 2023.

Sunday, 9 November

• Flensburg remain unbeaten with eight wins in a row, most recently 36:30 over Erlangen, and top the table with 18:2 points.
• They also cruised into the Cup quarter-finals with a 36:29 win at Stuttgart, where they’ll meet Magdeburg in one of two top ties.
• Hamburg travel north full of confidence after their stunning 39:38 victory over champions Füchse Berlin — their third consecutive win — putting them 10th with 11:9 points.
• The leading scorers are both Danish wings: Emil Jakobsen for Flensburg (66 goals) and Nicolaj Jørgensen for Hamburg (61).
• Flensburg are unbeaten in their last ten matches with Hamburg (nine wins, one draw); Hamburg’s last victory dates back to 2014. The overall record stands at 18–11 in Flensburg’s favour.

• Third host second-bottom — after ten rounds, 13 points separate the sides. Kiel have 16:4 on their tally, BHC 3:17.
• Both sides drew last time out: Kiel 25:25 at Gummersbach, BHC 28:28 at Leipzig.
• Kiel’s Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu ranks fourth in the scoring charts with 77 goals, while Noah Beyer leads BHC with 55.
• Goalkeeper Andy Wolff has made 110 saves — the best tally in the league.
• Kiel have an impeccable record: 25 wins from 25 duels with BHC.
• Both sides progressed in the Cup: Kiel won 41:36 away to Balingen-Weilstetten to set up a quarter-final at Füchse Berlin, while BHC beat Hannover 40:38 after extra time to book a tie with Melsungen.

• Lemgo’s 22:28 defeat to Melsungen in the previous round was their first league loss after eight unbeaten matches (seven wins, one draw), but they still hold fourth place on 15:5 points.
• TBV bounced back midweek with a 30:27 Cup win over Gummersbach to reach the quarter-finals in Leipzig. Hannover, meanwhile, were knocked out by BHC.
• Hannover have managed just one win in their last five HBL games, narrowly losing 22:24 to Magdeburg last round. They sit 13th on 6:14 points.
• Tim Suton leads Lemgo with 68 goals, four ahead of Niels Versteijnen; Marius Steinhauser has scored 51 times for Hannover.
• Hannover have won six of the last eight meetings, including both last season and lead the overall record 15–10.

• Alongside Flensburg, Magdeburg remain unbeaten with eight wins and one draw, their latest success a 24:22 at Hannover. With a game in hand, they sit second, one point behind Flensburg.
• In the Cup, they powered past second-division Großwallstadt 45:27 and now face Flensburg in the quarter-finals.
• The Löwen, already out of the Cup, climbed to fifth (12:8 points) in the league after beating Stuttgart 38:34.
• This is a rematch of the inaugural cup final at Cologne, which the Löwen won on penalties in 2023.
• Iceland’s Omar Ingi Magnusson is third in the league’s scoring chart with 80 goals.
• Two of the league’s top four goalkeepers meet: David Späth (Löwen) has made 102 saves to his name, Sergey Hernandez (Magdeburg) 86.
• Despite leading the all-time record 24–17, the Löwen have struggled lately, with Magdeburg unbeaten in the last nine league encounters (eight wins, one draw).

• Both sides reached the Cup quarter-finals: Leipzig edged Nordhorn-Lingen 28:27 and will now host Lemgo, while Berlin cruised past Eisenach 38:22 and will meet holders Kiel.
• Can the bottom club turn things around against the champions? Their 28:28 draw at BHC was their second of the season, leaving them winless and bottom with 2:18 points.
• Berlin’s winning streak ended with that 38:39 defeat at Hamburg; they now sit sixth on 14:6.
• Füchse star Mathias Gidsel tops the scoring chart with 92 goals.
• Berlin have won all eight meetings with Leipzig since 2021/22, and lead the overall record 15–4.