15th Matchday: Stuttgart’s week of truth, Flensburg facing the team of the moment

Thursday, 4th December

• With three points from their last two matches – a win over Minden and a 24:24 draw against Erlangen – TVB Stuttgart have slightly eased their relegation worries. With 7:19 points, the Swabians sit 14th.
• HSG Wetzlar are moving in the opposite direction: after seven straight defeats, most recently a 23:30 against the Rhein-Neckar Löwen, Momir Ilic’s side have slipped to second-bottom, two points behind Stuttgart and two ahead of bottom club Leipzig.
• Kai Häfner (Stuttgart) is the HBL’s third-best scorer with 109 goals.
• Although TVB have taken points from three of the last four duels (two wins, one draw), Wetzlar lead the overall record 13:4.

• TBV Lemgo Lippe remain the team of the moment. Their 34:33 win at the Füchse was their third victory in a row. They now sit fourth with 21:7 points – ahead of champions Berlin and level with cup winners Kiel.
• SG Flensburg-Handewitt dropped a point in their 37:37 chase-match against Gummersbach but remain second behind Magdeburg, now four minus points adrift.
• Two SG personnel updates made headlines: back-court player Simon Pytlick is moving to Berlin in summer 2027, while playmaker Luca Witzke is out for the rest of the season through injury.
• Four of the league’s top ten scorers meet in this clash: Marko Grgic (92) and Emil Jakobsen (79) for Flensburg, plus Tim Suton (88) and Niels Versteijnen (77) for Lemgo.
• This will be the 74th HBL meeting between the clubs. Flensburg have won 36, Lemgo 27. Last season, both teams won their home fixtures.

Friday, 5th December

• Both sides caused major upsets against northern clubs ahead of this NRW derby: BHC shocked Hamburg with a 35:32 victory, while Gummersbach took a point away in Flensburg.
• With 7:21 points, promoted BHC sit 15th, two points above the first relegation place. Gummersbach are sixth with 20:8 points, level with champions Berlin and part of the chasing pack.
• The record between the clubs is almost even across 20 meetings: ten wins for VfL, nine for BHC. In the 2023/24 season both matches were won by the away team.

Saturday, 6th December

• Rhein-Neckar Löwen ended a run of three defeats with a clear 30:23 win over Wetzlar and sit ninth with an even 14:14 record.
• HC Erlangen have taken only one point from their last three matches – the 24:24 draw with Stuttgart – and trail the Löwen by three points (11:17), placing them 12th.
• With 78 goals, Löwen line-player Jannik Kohlbacher is eight ahead of Erlangen’s top scorer, Viggó Kristjánsson (70).
• Erlangen’s 34:25 win over the Löwen in May was crucial for their eventual survival. Their only away win in Mannheim dates back to 2021. Overall, Löwen lead the series 10:5 with four draws.

Sunday, 7th December

• In the duel with his former club, Recken coach Christian Prokop earned a 27:27 draw – and also announced that he will leave Hannover at the end of the season. TSV sit 11th with 12:16 points.
• The Füchse Berlin lost their third home match of the season in a 33:34 defeat to Lemgo. With seven minus points behind leaders Magdeburg (20:8), the reigning champions currently sit fifth.
• Who else but Mathias Gidsel leads the HBL scoring charts? The Berliner has 128 goals.
• Last season, Hannover won their home match against the Füchse 38:35 but lost in Berlin. Overall, Berlin lead the head-to-head 21:7.

• Ahead of this traditional Hessian derby, MT Melsungen sit seventh with 15:13 points, already five behind sixth place.
• On Matchday 14, MT drew 26:26 with neighbours FRISCH AUF! Göppingen.
• Melsungen have won the last two derbies, while Wetzlar won the two before that. This will be the 41st Hessian clash; Melsungen lead 24:11.

• Hamburg and Eisenach are separated by two points and three places: HSVH are tenth with 13:15 points, Eisenach 13th with 11:17.
• Hamburg surprisingly lost 32:35 at BHC last weekend – their third defeat in four matches.
• Eisenach, meanwhile, produced one of the biggest shocks of the matchday with a 27:27 draw against cup holders Kiel.
• Nicolaj Jørgensen is currently the league’s seventh-highest scorer with 80 goals.
• Eisenach’s 32:31 home win earlier this season was only their second ever against Hamburg, who won the return fixture. Overall, Hamburg lead 8:2.

• Who can stop SCM this season? With 25:1 points, the runners-up and Champions League winners remain unbeaten, most recently strolling to a 36:21 win over promoted Minden.
• Göppingen have taken only one point from their last two matches – though those were against Kiel (30:34) and Melsungen (27:27).
• Magdeburg’s left-hander Omar Ingi Magnusson surpassed the 100-goal mark last matchday and now has 102.
• Since June 2019, SCM have won all twelve meetings with Göppingen. The last Göppingen victory actually came in Magdeburg. The overall record stands at 34:9 in favour of the runners-up.

• After Thursday’s match against Wetzlar, TVB Stuttgart face their second crucial fixture in just four days.
• New coach Frank Carstens collected his first point with SC DHfK Leipzig in a 27:27 draw with Hannover-Burgdorf. The bottom club reduced the gap to new second-bottom Wetzlar to two points.
• Leipzig lead the head-to-head with 10:8 wins. Last season, both teams won their home fixtures.