Matchday 32: Relegation clash and duel of bottom club and league leaders

Sunday, 1 June:

• The record from previous years clearly favours SC Magdeburg, who are unbeaten in 19 games against TBV, with 18 wins and one draw since 2013. The first leg ended 30:27, and in 64 matches to date, Magdeburg have won 41 times and Lemgo 21 times.
• SCM won their last eleven league games, was even top of the table for a day after their 34:23 win in Erlangen, and are now second with 51:11 points, one point behind the Füchse and one point ahead of Melsungen.
• In their last two games of the season, SCM will face Flensburg at home and travel to Bietigheim for their final game.
• TBV are eighth in the table, six points behind Flensburg and Hannover, who are tied on points, but can no longer qualify for the European Cup. Florian Kehrmann's team recently secured two wins against Bietigheim and Wetzlar.

• How will MT cope with Thursday's heavy 29:37 defeat in Berlin? With 50:12 points, the North Hessians have slipped to third place and, now one point behind second-placed Magdeburg, are even struggling for the Champions League qualification.
• After the match against Eisenach, MT still have matches ahead against Lemgo and relegated Potsdam.
• After securing their place in the league, ThSV Eisenach lost their last five matches, most recently 29:31 in Hamburg. With 25:37 points, the Thuringians are currently eleventh in the table.
• Eisenach's Marko Grgic, DAIKIN HBL's top scorer with 273 goals by now, will face the league's best defence, which was completely torn apart in Berlin.
• The 32:31 win in the first leg was Eisenach's only victory in seven matches against MT so far.

• After beating Göppingen 30:26 on 23 March, HSG Wetzlar have lost the following eight games – and are not yet safe. With 18:44 points, the 14th-placed team is four points ahead of second-last HC Erlangen. One point against the Lions is therefore enough to continue playing in the DAIKIN HBL again next season.
• After their 33:28 away win in Flensburg, the Rhein-Neckar Löwen first lost 32:34 at home to Gummersbach and then 26:33, also at home, to relegation candidates Stuttgart on Thursday. With 35:29 points, the Baden team is currently ninth.
• Wetzlar have won only eight of 41 games against the Lions so far, but prevailed 30:27 in last season's home game. The Baden team won the first leg 32:27.

• It is a duel between two future European Cup participants with equal points and, at the same time, a duel between two disappointed teams. SG only picked up one point from their last two games, following their defeat to the Lions with a lucky 29:29 draw at third-from-bottom Bietigheim on
• Thursday, after trailing 12:21 at half-time. In between, however, Flensburg also secured the European League title – and thus booked their ticket to the European Cup.
• Hanover fared even worse, losing their last three games and slipping from third to sixth place – Wednesday's 26:27 home defeat against relegated Potsdam was particularly shocking for Christian Prokop's team, which, like Flensburg, has 43:19 points.
• In three of their last four games, Recken remained unbeaten against SG with two wins and one draw, including a 31:30 win in the first leg. Overall, however, Flensburg leads 20:6 in terms of wins.

• Relegation candidate against league leaders – on paper, the roles are clearly defined, but Stuttgart showed signs of life at just the right moment. After two home defeats against their direct rivals Erlangen (27:30) and Bietigheim (26:30) and a total of six defeats in a row, the Swabians sensationally beat Rhein-Neckar Löwen 33:26 on Thursday and are now two points ahead of second-last Erlangen.
• On the other hand, Füchse celebrated an outstanding victory in Thursday's top match against the previous second-placed team, Melsungen. Including the 37:29 victory, the Füchse are now unbeaten in 16 consecutive games, celebrating 14 wins and two draws since 16 December and their defeat in Flensburg.
• With 52:10 points, one point ahead of Magdeburg and two points ahead of Melsungen, Berlin have their first championship title in their own hands, playing at home against Gummersbach and then away at the Löwen.
• With their 32:28 victory two years ago, Stuttgart dashed the Füchse's dreams of winning the championship and qualifying for the Champions League. It was their second victory in 19 games against Berlin, who have won 15 times.

• It's the ultimate relegation battle on the third-to-last matchday of the season: thanks to their 29:29 draw against Flensburg, newly promoted SG BBM Bietigheim are now one point ahead of HC Erlangen – and the Franconians only have one game left to play (in Wetzlar).
• Bietigheim went through an emotional rollercoaster on Thursday. After leading 21:12 at half-time, Iker Romero's team found themselves 28:29 behind, but then managed to equalize. Stuttgart's victory at Rhein-Neckar Löwen has further exacerbated the situation for the second-to-last and third-to-last teams.
• The SG will face Leipzig (away) and title contender Magdeburg on the last matchday, who will certainly not be giving away any points.
• Bietigheim have recently shown an upward trend, picking up five points from their last four games and beating Stuttgart and Göppingen before drawing with Flensburg.
• Erlangen also won two of their last five games against Stuttgart and the Lions, but suffered a clear 23:34 defeat against second-placed Magdeburg on Wednesday in their last home game of the season.
• Bietigheim have not won any of their five games against Erlangen, losing three times and drawing twice, most recently 25:25 in the first leg.