Wednesday, 1 May:

HC Erlangen vs. MT Melsungen (19:00 CEST, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• The starting position couldn't be more different: Erlangen lost the bottom line duel at Bergischer HC and are now only two points ahead of a relegation place, Melsungen are on cloud nine after their 30:28 win over Füchse Berlin and have proven their reputation as a stumbling block for top teams.
• Johannes Sellin's debut as the new head coach and successor to Hartmut Mayerhoffer at the third-to-last team from Erlangen ended with a 25:28 in Wuppertal.
• Cup finalist Melsungen consolidated fifth place with their success in the top game, five points ahead of VfL Gummersbach and level on points with fourth-placed THW Kiel.
• The overall record speaks clearly for Melsungen with twelve wins in 17 games (including the 32:25 in the first leg), but: Erlangen have achieved two wins and one draw in the last three home games against MT Melsungen last won in Erlangen in October 2019.

Thursday, 2 May:

Handball Sport Verein Hamburg vs. Bergischer HC (19:00 CEST, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• In the 26:35 defeat at TVB Stuttgart on the last matchday, the Hamburg team was missing six injured players. It was the first defeat after seven previous unbeaten HSVH games (two draws, five wins).
• With 26:32 points, Torsten Jansen's team is currently in ninth place, nine points ahead of the first relegation place.
• The Bergische HC is in this first relegation place with 17:43 points, but: since the change of coach from Jamal Naji to Arnor Thor Gunnarsson, BHC have won both duels against Balingen-Weilstetten and Erlangen. If HCE lose against Melsungen and BHC win in Hamburg, both teams are on the same number of points.
• BHC won the first leg 28:27, and is therefore ahead in the overall standings with 6:5 wins - their last victory in Hamburg was three years ago.
• If Casper Mortensen, who was missing in Stuttgart, is fit again, the HSVH winger could celebrate his 200th goal of the season; the Dane currently has 196 goals.

Friday, 3 May:

FRISCH AUF! Göppingen vs. SC DHfK Leipzig (19:00 CEST, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• Neither team scored any points on the last match day: Leipzig lost 32:35 to SG Flensburg-Handewitt after a strong performance, Göppingen had no chance in the 26:33 defeat in Hanover.
• While Leipzig are secure in eighth place with 27:31 points, Göppingen are in twelfth position with 23:37, just six points from the first relegation place.
• The Swabians won the first leg against the Saxons 35:33, but have only celebrated one victory in the last four games. Leipzig won the last three away games in Erlangen, Balingen and Stuttgart.
• Göppingen have won nine of the 16 duels so far, the last Leipzig away win at FRISCH AUF! was three years ago.

HBW Balingen-Weilstetten vs. ThSV Eisenach (20:00 CEST, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• Will the duel between the promoted teams decide who will be the first to be relegated or can Balingen make a statement? If Eisenach wins the bottom duel, the Thuringians (currently 20:40 points) would be certain to stay in the league, and Balingen (11:47 points) would be relegated if Erlangen does not lose to the Bergischer HC.
• The duel between the promoted teams is the debut of the current assistant coach Tobias Hotz as interim successor to Jens Bürkle on Balingen’s bench, as HBW did play on the previous match day.
• Eisenach missed the first match point in terms of staying in the league with a 25:30 loss against TBV Lemgo Lippe on the previous match day, after previously winning three games from four.
• The reverse fixture ended with a 28:28 in Eisenach on the fifth match day, after which Balingen suffered eleven defeats in a row and slipped to last place, which they have not been able to give up since then.
• With 234 goals, Eisenach's Swiss Manuel Zehnder is still second on the HBL goal scorers list, seven goals below Mathias Gidsel (Berlin).

Saturday, 4 May:

SG Flensburg-Handewitt vs. TVB Stuttgart (19:00 CEST, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• Third against 14th - and Flensburg has scored exactly twice as many points as TVB Stuttgart (22:38) with 44:14 points.
• SG can still get into the race for a Champions League starting place, with four minus points behind the Füchse Berlin, the HBL title is only mathematically possible with eight minus points below Magdeburg.
• On the previous match day, Flensburg took a hard-fought 35:32 victory against Leipzig, while TVB made a statement in the relegation battle with a 35:26 win against Hamburg.
• With ten goals against Leipzig, Emil Jakobsen was the most successful scorer on the last match day. The Dane has a total of 162 goals to his name.
• TVB won the first leg on the eighth match day 34:31, which was Flensburg's second defeat of the season - and Stuttgart's first ever win in 16 duels. Before that, there was a draw and 14 defeats.

Rhein-Neckar Löwen vs. TSV Hannover-Burgdorf (20:30 CEST, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• This is already the fourth duel between the two teams this season: Recken won the reverse fixture in the HBL 34:29, and the Löwen won twice in the European League.
• This success was only the fourth Recken victory in the 28th HBL duel with the Lions, who have won 24 times.
• While the Lions have a chance of getting a ticket to the final tournament in Hamburg after their first leg win against Sporting Lisbon in the quarter-finals of the European League, things have not been going well in the league for weeks. In the last 13 games there have only been three wins and ten defeats (most recently the 23:28 against Melsungen).
• While the Lions are in eleventh place with 24:34 points, Hannover-Burgdorf can still hope for international business in seventh place with 34:26 points, one point behind VfL Gummersbach.
• The two best shooters from both clubs are close together in the scorer list: Niclas Kirkelökke scored 145 times for the Lions, ex-Lion Marius Steinhauser netted 134 times for the Recken.

Sunday, 5 May:

Füchse Berlin vs. VfL Gummersbach (15:00 CEST, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• Draw against Kiel, defeat in Melsungen - have Füchse Berlin already lost the race for championship? Jaron Siewert's team is currently four points below league leaders SC Magdeburg, who have played two games less.
• On the other hand, VfL Gummersbach are currently heading from success to success, having won five of their last six games (most recently 35:28 against Wetzlar) and drew one (in Hamburg). With 35:23 points, VfL are sixth in the table.
• In the reverse fixture, VfL turned a 11:16 halftime deficit into a 30:30; it was already the seventh draw in 41 duels. Berlin won 18 times, Gummersbach 16 times.
• With 241 goals this season, Mathias Gidsel leads the HBL top scorers list, his teammate Lasse Andersson is still six goals shy from the 200 mark.

HSG Wetzlar vs. THW Kiel (16:30 CEST, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• With a 32:31 away win, HSG Wetzlar caused a sensation in the third round of the DHB Cup - and ended THW Kiel's first title dream early.
• In the league, however, things have not been going well for HSG recently, which has only won one of their last seven games; on the last matchday, Wetzlar lost 28:35 in Gummersbach and is in 13th place with 23:37 points.
• THW, which had a free matchday, had previously drawn twice (in Berlin and Hamburg), and are ruled out of the title race, ranked in fourth place, given that they are ten points behind Magdeburg.
• Kiel won the reverse fixture in the league 33:22, it was the 39th THW victory in the 51st HBL encounter.

TBV Lemgo Lippe vs. SC Magdeburg (18:00 CEST, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• Six match days separate SC Magdeburg from their third HBL championship title after 2001 and 2022. Due to the Berlin failures, SCM took the lead with 50:6 points - and have won all of their last seven league games. Looking upon the current table, there is only one game left (against Leipzig) against a team from the top half of the table.
• Lemgo are currently tenth with 25:35 points, having recently won twice, against Hannover-Burgdorf and in Eisenach. Before that, however, there were three defeats in a row.
• In the reverse fixture, TBV had suffered a 28:35 defeat. Lemgo have not won against the SCM since September 2013. Since then, Magdeburg took 16 wins and one draw. The overall record is also in favor of the SCM, with 38:21 wins.

Foto: Schips