Reunion in Flensburg
In the Handball Champions League it is the matchday of the German-Hungarian duels. While THW Kiel plays away at Pick Szeged, the SG Flensburg-Handewitt expects the team from Telekom Veszprem. Both tasks are a real challenge, as the Hungarian top teams are among the best that European handball has to offer at the moment.
The Flensburg team is currently not doing very well in the table of their group of eight. Only the first two teams qualify directly for the quarter-finals. The teams in third to sixth place have to take a diversion via the round of 16. At the moment, Maik Machulla’s team is only ranked sixth. There is a real danger that they will miss out on the play-offs.
A win in the Flens-Arena against the Hungarian runners-up would be enormously important.
The Hungarians are currently second in this group behind Vive Kielce, but still have Paris Saint-Germain and FC Barcelona breathing down their necks. Therefore, a win would also be very important for the guests to keep the competition at bay, even if only for a short time. However, we are not sure whether we have to place a bet on an away win in the duel between Flensburg and Telekom Veszprem.
Flensburg – Statistics & current form
Even the athletes are not immune to catching the rampant virus these days. Parts of the Flensburg handball team had to go into quarantine along with their coach Maik Machulla. In the meantime, however, all players have returned from isolation, so that the team from Schleswig-Holstein can approach the match against Veszprem in a somewhat more relaxed manner.
Significantly improving form
However, things have been going very well recently without the coach, who was replaced by former World Champion Holger Glandorf. Flensburg have only lost one of their last ten competitive games. In the Bundesliga, they are in fourth place, which puts them in a good position. In the Champions League, things don’t look so good because Flensburg don’t get much done away from home.
In the Champions League, there were defeats away from home at Motor Zaporizhzhia and Dinamo Bucharest. However, they won their home games against both opponents and also managed a point against Paris Saint-Germain at home. Therefore, we can imagine at least checking the odds on a home win in the match between Flensburg and Telekom Veszprem.
Last weekend, there was an away win at Bergischer HC in the Bundesliga. In the 29:24 win, the team, coached there for the first time again by Maik Machulla, had few problems. As in the Bundesliga, Hampus Wanne (private trip to Sweden) and Aaron Mensing (ankle injury) will not be playing against Veszprem. Göran Johannessen will be back in the team.
Predicted line-up of Flensburg:
Buric, Möller – Jakobsen, Golla, Svan, Mensah Larsen, Johannessen, Einarsson, Linskog, Hald Jensen, Meyer-Siebert, Gottfridsson, Müller – Coach: Machulla
Telekom Veszprem – Statistics & current form
Momir Ilic has won everything there is to win as a player with his clubs. For a long time, the Serb played for VfL Gummersbach and THW Kiel in the Bundesliga. Now he returns to Germany as the coach of Telekom Veszprem and perhaps the duel in Flensburg will still feel the old rivalry that he often experienced on the record as a long-time Kiel player.
Veszprem with two ex-Flensburg players
With Rasmus Lauge Schmidt and Kentin Mahe, the coach has two players in his luggage who played many years in Flensburg and celebrated great success there. At least during the 60 minutes, however, the friendship will rest. In the Hungarian league, Veszprem and Pick Szeged are tied again this year. Both teams are undefeated and tied at the top.
In total, Veszprem have won five games in a row, but they also have their problems away from home in the top flight and lost, like Flensburg, in Bucharest and Zaporizhzhia. Therefore, we think it is possible to predict a home win for the German runners-up in the match between Flensburg and Telekom Veszprem.
Last weekend, however, the Hungarians celebrated a clear away victory in the national league. However, the tasks at home can hardly be compared to a match in the Champions League, except for the duels against Szeged, and so the clear 34:21 victory at Dabas must certainly be put into perspective. The Hungarians will have to do without ace back Petar Nenadic until the end of the year because of a thigh injury.
Predicted line-up of Telekom Veszprem:
Cupara, Corrales – Omar, Maqueda Peno, Ligetvari, Nilsson, Strlek, Blagotinsek, Lekai, Marguc, Lauge Schmidt, Mahe, Dörnyei, Lukacs, Ilic, Sipos – Coach: Ilic
Flensburg – Telekom Veszprem Direct comparison / H2H-balance
Since 2008, the teams of Flensburg-Handewitt and Telekom Veszprem have faced each other in a total of eleven matches. If you like, the Hungarians are a kind of fear opponent of the Flensburgers. Veszprem has a clear 8:1 lead after victories in this period, and the SG still managed a draw in two other duels.
The victory of the team from Schleswig-Holstein was 13 years ago. Flensburg lost the first leg in the current Champions League in Hungary 28:23. Veszprem already led by six goals at the break. Maik Machulla’s team only woke up in the second period, too late to take anything worthwhile with them.
Flensburg – Telekom Veszprem Tip
After all, the Hungarians have not lost to the SG in 13 years and have won five games in a row. However, Momir Ilic’s team has its problems away from home in the top flight, losing in Bucharest and Zaporizhzhia.
Therefore, we think it is possible that the Hungarians will also have their problems in Flensburg and will at least not win by a large margin. Maik Machulla’s team is in good form with only one defeat from the last ten games. Blindly, we would not place a bet on a win for the visitors in the duel between Flensburg and Telekom Veszprem.
We can even imagine that the German vice-champion will get an important win in the fight for the participation in the playoffs. However, we think the risk of betting on a home win is a bit too high and therefore we have decided to play the betting odds on a handicap win (+2.5) for the SG between Flensburg and Telekom Veszprem.
