Matchday 31: The top duel in Berlin and pure drama at both ends of the table

Wednesday, 28 May:

• After the two top match defeats against Melsungen and most recently Magdeburg (28:34), the Recken have slipped to fifth place and are now seven points behind the leading duo. This means that Hanover can no longer mathematically qualify for the Champions League, but Christian Prokop's team has secured its spot in the European League.
• After losing 23:37 to SC Magdeburg, 1. VfL Potsdam is the first team to be relegated, having won only two of 30 games so far. The promoted team lost the first leg 22:27.
• Recken left-hander Renars Uscins is eight goals short of his 200th goal of the season.

• Even two wins in the last four games, including the 30:27 in Stuttgart last matchday, have not allowed HC Erlangen to gain any buffer in the relegation battle. With 14:48 points, the HCE is still second last.
• The club from Franconia still has all the cards in its hand with the remaining games against direct rivals Bietigheim and HSG Wetzlar, who are also in danger of relegation.
• SC Magdeburg not only levelled the table with two catch-up games in the previous week, but are now just one point behind the top duo of Berlin and Melsungen thanks to two wins against Eisenach and Potsdam. SCM have won their last ten league games.
• After the game in Erlangen, Magdeburg's remaining programme looks as follows: Lemgo (A), Flensburg (H) and Bietigheim (A).
• SCM has won all seven games against Erlangen since 2021, with the first leg ending 30:19; Magdeburg's overall record is 16:3 victories.

• HSG Wetzlar have lost their last seven league games, including two defeats under new coach Momir Ilic, albeit against top teams Flensburg and Melsungen.
• With 18:42 points, Wetzlar are currently 14th in the table and just four points off a relegation place.
• The past few weeks have been very different for TBV Lemgo Lippe, with Florian Kehrmann's team winning nine of its last 12 games, most recently 33:21 against Bietigheim.
• TBV Lemgo Lippe (currently seventh with 35:25 points) can still finish sixth in the table and overtake SG Flensburg-Handewitt, but even that would not be enough to secure a place in the European Cup, as Flensburg qualified directly for the European League as defending champions.
• Lemgo won the first leg 28:25, and TBV have also won five of their last six games against Wetzlar, with an even better overall record of 39:9 in their favour.

• After two victories over the Rhein-Neckar Löwen and Eisenach, VfL Gummersbach have consolidated ninth place in the table with 34:26 points, just one point behind seventh-placed Lemgo.
• FRISCH AUF! Göppingen are not yet saved, but could take a big step towards relegation with a win in Gummersbach. Göppingen are currently 13th with 19:41 points, five points ahead of the first relegation spot.
• The two teams drew 24:24 in the first leg; Gummersbach have won 36 of their 63 games so far, Göppingen 21.
   

• Hamburg and Eisenach may be neighbours in tenth and eleventh place in the table, but HSVH are six points ahead of the Thuringians.
• The most important question is therefore: Will Eisenach's Marko Grgic crack the 300-season goal mark? After his 15 goals in Magdeburg, the young German international sits on 264 goals - and the future Flensburg player still has four games to reach the 36 mark.
• The 32:31 victory in the first leg was Eisenach's second win in their ninth encounter with HSVH, who have left the court as winners seven times.

• After finishing third in the final tournament of the European League, THW Kiel can still mathematically become champions despite being six points behind, but Berlin, Melsungen and Magdeburg would have to lose pretty much all their games for that to happen.
• Prior to the European League tournament, Kiel had won their last four DAIKIN HBL games, mainly thanks to Andreas Wolff, who is the league's best goalkeeper with 272 saves.
• SC DHfK Leipzig were recently shocked by Simon Ernst rupturing his cruciate ligament again; with 21:39 points, the Saxons are twelfth, seven points off a relegation place, meaning they still need one point from their last four games to secure their place in the league.
• Including the 32:28 win in the first leg, THW Kiel have won 15 of their 18 previous encounters against Leipzig.

Thursday, 29 May:

• Newly promoted team against newly crowned European League winners: SG BBM Bietigheim want to use the momentum from two wins in their last three games (against Stuttgart and Göppingen) to pick up more points in the relegation battle. Tied on points with Erlangen and Stuttgart, the race is still wide open.
• After missing out on the two national titles, SG Flensburg-Handewitt crowned their achievement by defending their European Cup title. In the DAIKIN HBL, the SG recently lost at home to Rhein-Neckar Löwen after four previous victories and thus lost all mathematical chances of winning the title. In sixth place, they are eight points clear at the top.
• Flensburg have won all five previous games against Bietigheim, with the first leg ending 39:27.

• The aim of the Lions is to end the season on a positive note, while TVB Stuttgart are up against relegation: After two home defeats against direct rivals Erlagen (27:30) and Bietigheim (26:30) and a total of six defeats in a row, the Swabians are level on points with penultimate-placed Erlangen - and in danger of relegation.
• The Lions put down an exclamation mark with a 33:28 away win in Flensburg, after which Sebastian Hinze's team lost 32:34 at home to Gummersbach. The Lions are fighting with Lemgo and Gummersbach for seventh place; they are currently eighth with 35:27 points, but have played one game more.
• TVB won their home game against the Lions 32:31 in the previous season, while the Lions won the first leg 28:25 in the current season, with the overall score in the duel between Baden and Württemberg being 15:3 in favour of Mannheim.

• The game of games, first against second, both equal on points, both with very strong series. Melsungen finished fourth in the final tournament of the European League last weekend, for Berlin the international highlight of the season is still to come with the CL final tournament in Cologne, where the Foxes will meet Nantes in the semi-finals. Both teams have never been German champions.
• Both teams have 50:10 points - Berlin have won 23 games, lost three and drawn four, while Melsungen have 25 wins and five defeats. In terms of goal difference, the Foxes (+175) are well ahead of MT (+116). With 1042 goals, the Berlin team has the best attack in the league, while Melsungen has the best defence with 792 goals conceded.
• The Foxes' top scoring trio Mathias Gidsel (234), Tim Freihöfer (184) and Lasse Andersson (146) have scored 564 goals together, while the best MT scorer is Ian Barrufet with 117 strikes - the Spaniard was crowned top scorer in the European League last weekend.
• In 34 games so far, the Foxes have won 19, Melsungen eleven and drawn four; Melsungen won the last two games, including the first leg (33:31), before that Berlin prevailed in seven of eight games.
• The remaining programme of the two top teams is similar: Berlin still plays against Stuttgart (A), Gummersbach (H) and the Lions (A), Melsungen against Eisenach (H), Lemgo (H) and Potsdam (A).