Thursday, 21 March:

TSV Hannover-Burgdorf vs HBW Balingen-Weilstetten (19:00 CET, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• For the warriors from Hanover it is the second game in a row against a promoted team - after the 31:31 against ThSV Eisenach. With 28:20 points, TSV arer in sixth place, five points behind fifth ranked MT Melsungen.
• HBW Balingen-Weilstetten have lost the last three games, have not played any game since 8 March and are bottom of the table with 11:37 points, three points behind the first non-relegation place.
• The warriors won the first leg 29:25, but the Swabians won three of the last five matches.

SC Magdeburg vs. HC Erlangen (19:00 CET, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• SC Magdeburg won the top game against Füchse Berlin on the last matchday before the national team break and are top of the table by minus points - but have played one game less.
• With the 28:23 win against the Rhein-Neckar Löwen, HC Erlangen were able to move away from the relegation zone and is in twelfth place with 19:29 points, six points ahead of the first relegation spot.
• Both teams will duel for the first time this season, with the reverse fixture on 12 May. SCM have won 13 of the 16 duels against Erlangens so far, the last HCE success was in April 2021.
• SCM Icelander Omar Ingi Magnusson is the sixth best HBL scorer with 146 goals.
• Erlangen's pivot Tim Zechel will move back to SC Magdeburg next season.
• Magdeburger qualified directly for the Champions League quarter-finals as group winners.

Rhein-Neckar Löwen vs Füchse Berlin (20:00 CET, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• Rhein-Neckar Löwen have only achieved one win and one draw from the last nine games, most recently Sebastian Hinze's team lost 23:28 against Erlangen.
• With 20:28 points, the Baden team, in which Uwe Gensheimer wants to have his comeback after a long injury break, is in eleventh place.
• Füchse have played one more game than Magdeburg and are therefore one point ahead of the SCM with 41:7 points despite the defeat in the top game. Berlin have only managed one win from the last three games.
• The 38:32 in the first duel of this season was the Füchse's sixth win in a row against the Lions; the overall record includes 16 Berlin wins and 13 for Löwen.
• Füchse backcourt player Mathias Gidsel is only seven goals short of the 200-goal mark this season; he is currently second of the ranking with 193 goals, while his Danish compatriot and teammate Lasse Andersson is fourth with 165 goals.
• Both teams qualified for the play-offs in the European League as runners-up in the main round.

Friday, 22 March:

MT Melsungen vs TBV Lemgo Lippe (20:00 CET, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• In terms of plus points, fifth ranked MT Melsungen are only one point behind THW Kiel, have 33:17 points on their tally and most recently won 25:22 against HBW Balingen-Weilstetten.
• TBV Lemgo Lippe recently won the two midfield duels against Wetzlar (31:23) and Göppingen (32:26) and worked its way up to ninth place with 21:29 points, but are already 13 points behind MT.
• With the 28:25 in the reverse fixture, the Melsungers had equaled their Bundesliga starting record with 12:0 points, the overall balance of both clubs is balanced with 15 wins each.

Saturday, 23 March:

THW Kiel vs SG Flensburg-Handewitt (15:40 CET, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• The “mother of all derbies” was rarely the duel between the third and fourth placed teams, but it was usually decisive for the championship. THW Kiel are currently fourth with 34:12 points, one place and one minus point below Flensburg (37:11), who have played one more game. The gap between the northern duo and league leaders Berlin is already four and five points respectively.
• Both teams skipped the play-offs as group winners in the European Cup (Kiel in the Champions League, Flensburg in the European League) and are already in the quarter-finals.
• Flensburg won the dramatic first duel of the season 28:27, it was the 72nd duel in HBL history and the 26th SG success, compared to 43 Kiel victories in the league. Overall, it is already the 110th northern derby.
• Emil Jakobsen is the best SG scorer with 144 goals and seventh in the top scorers list, Niklas Ekberg is the most successful THW shooter with 107 goals.

HSG Wetzlar vs Handball Sport Verein Hamburg (19:00 CET, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• HSG Wetzlar only have won one the last five games, most recently there were two defeats against Flensburg and Lemgo. As a result, the HSG slipped to tenth place with 21:29 points.
• With the two recent wins against Göppingen and at the Rhein-Neckar Löwen, Hamburg have gained a gap in the relegation battle. Ranked 14th, HSVH is currently five points ahead of a relegation zone – and are four places but only three points below Wetzlar.
• The 30:25 in the first duel of the season was part of four HSVH victories in a row, it was the 22nd win in the 30th game against Wetzlar, HSG took seven wins.
• HSVH winger Casper Mortensen is currently third on the HBL top scorers list with 170 season goals, while Wetzlar's Slovenian Domen Novak is currently eighth with 142 goals.

Sunday 24 March:

SC DHfK Leipzig vs ThSV Eisenach  (15:00 CET, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• SC DHfK have won the last three games against Stuttgart, Melsungen and Bergischer HC and have only lost one game in 2024. With 21:25 points, the Saxons are currently in eighth place.
• THsV Eisenach left the relegation zone for the first time since months thanks to the draw against TSV Hannover-Burgdorf on the last match day and is now third from bottom with 14:36 points.
• Eisenach won the reverse fixture in December 25:24, it was ThSV's first win in only their third duel with Leipzig.
• With 205 goals, Eisenach's Manuel Zehnder is still the best shooter in the LIQUI MOLY HBL. 50 goals and four places behind is the best Leipzig scorer, Viggo Kristjansson (155).

Füchse Berlin vs HBW Balingen-Weilstetten (16:30 CET, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• The omens are clearly distributed in the duel between the league leaders and the bottom of the league.
• The Foxes celebrated 21 wins in 26 duels, the last one in the first leg with a score of 37:26; Before that there had been two draws, Balingen the Alb achieved their only win so far in 2019.

FRISCH AUF! Göppingen vs HC Erlangen (16:30 CET, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• FRISCH AUF! Göppingen only had one win in its last five HBL games (against Eisenach) and have recently lost against Flensburg, Lemgo and Hamburg. With 19:31 points, Markus Baur's team is in 13th place.

VfL Gummersbach vs TVB Stuttgart (16:30 CET, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• With 26:22 points, VfL Gummersbach are the last team with a positive account in the current table. Four wins in the last five games and only one defeat against SC Magdeburg speak clearly for the upward trend, most recently there was a 31:24 in the NRW duel against Bergischer HC.
• Due to the defeats against Leipzig and the Hanover, Stuttgart were unable to carry the momentum from their previous win against Melsungen - and are currently 15th with 18:32 points, but are five points ahead of a relegation zone.
• VfL's record is six wins in eleven duels against TVB, including winning the first leg in Stuttgart 31:29. In the previous season, both teams celebrated home victories in the direct duels.

Bergischer HC vs SC Magdeburg (18:00 CET, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• Second to last against second – despite the home advantage, BHC are not the favorite in this game
• Bergischer HC slipped into a relegation spot after eight defeats in a row, most recently the BHC lost 24:31 against Gummersbach.
• The SCM clearly won the first leg with 40:28, it was the 19th victory in the 24th duel, the BHC won four times, three of them at home.

Photo: Anderson-Jensen