Will HSV surprise in the hell north?
There are still a few games to be played in the Handball Bundesliga. The title fight this year is similarly unspectacular as in football, but especially in the race for the second slot for participation in the Champions League, things are heating up. Füchse Berlin, THW Kiel and SG Flensburg-Handewitt are battling it out for the runner-up spot and qualification for the top flight.
Before Saturday’s home match against HSV Hamburg, Flensburg have the worst starting position of the three opponents. Kiel and Berlin each have ten minus points, the SG already has twelve. However, with the Füchse playing the top team in Magdeburg on Sunday and Maik Machulla’s team still having a home game against THW ahead of them, anything is still possible.
The SG should not allow themselves a slip-up, because then they would no longer have the vice-championship in their own hands. However, we think that there is no way around a prediction of a home win in the match between Flensburg and HSV Hamburg.
Hamburg can be very satisfied with the way the season has gone so far. Theoretically, it is still possible to get caught in the relegation maelstrom, but we strongly expect that Torsten Jansen’s team, twelfth in the table, will have no more problems. In Saturday’s clash between Flensburg and HSV Hamburg, however, the tip must still go to a success for the home side.
Flensburg – Statistics & current form
The handball schedule is sometimes strange. In autumn, there is a game every three days and now the SG Flensburg-Handewitt has not been on the pitch for almost three weeks. But there are still tough tasks ahead, including the quarter-final in the Champions League against FC Barcelona or the North derby against THW Kiel.
Little to gain for guests in the hell of the North
The Flensburg team should definitely be rested and fresh on Saturday. But such a long break can also upset the rhythm. Maik Machulla’s team was in good form with only one defeat in the last six games. Therefore, we look at the odds for a small handicap victory for the home side in the duel between Flensburg and HSV Hamburg.
The SG is doing extremely well at the Flens-Arena. Only one of the last 19 home games was lost, and that was in the Champions League against Vive Kielce. In Hölle Nord, Maik Machulla’s team also wants to get the points in the small North derby. Flensburg’s last game took place on 10 April. Just three days after they had knocked Pick Szeged out of the top flight, Nettelstedt-Lübbecke were guests in Hölle Nord.
The current last team in the Bundesliga was nothing more than a sparring partner for the Flensburg team. Already at the break, the SG was 14:9 ahead. In the end, it was 30:19 after Hampus Wanne scored an outstanding twelve goals. National player Franz Semper, who will probably not play again this season, is still not part of the team.
Predicted line-up of Flensburg:
Buric, Möller – Bult, Einarsson, Golla, Gottfridsson, Hald Jensen, Jakobsen, Johannessen, Mensah Larsen, Lindskog, Steinhauser, Svan, Wanne – Coach: Machulla
Last matches played by Flensburg:
Bundesliga
10/04/2022 – SG Flensburg-Handewitt 30 – 19 TuS-N-Lübbecke
Champions League Final Stage
07/04/2022 – Pick Szeged 36 – 35 SG Flensburg-Handewitt
Bundesliga
03/04/2022 – Rhein-Neckar-Löwen 29 – 29 SG Flensburg-Handewitt
Champions League Final Stage
31/03/2022 – SG Flensburg-Handewitt 25 – 21 Pick Szeged
Bundesliga
27/03/2022 – MT Melsungen 26 – 32 SG Flensburg-Handewitt
HSV Hamburg – Statistics & current form
HSV Hamburg has been following a path of continuous development for years. Until now, it has been steadily upwards. In the Bundesliga, however, trees don’t grow to the sky for a promoted team and that’s why, from Hamburg’s point of view, they can be very satisfied with twelfth place and a largely carefree season. However, the Hanseatic League still needs to pick up a few more points.
Little to get for guests in the hell north
Whether they will start with that now in Flensburg may well be questioned. Hamburg have lost three of their last four Bundesliga games. However, Torsten Jansen’s team also won surprisingly at Rhein-Neckar Löwen. If the Hanseatic team has a good day in the North derby, we would definitely predict a close match between Flensburg and HSV Hamburg.
The last HSV match was basically a farce. The Hamburg team requested a postponement from the DHB due to 13 missing players, which was not granted. So HSV had to play with a B-formation in Hannover and fought back as hard as they could. At the break, the Hamburg team was still two goals ahead. In the end, however, they lacked the competitive spirit and lost 27-29.
In the meantime, however, there is light in the tunnel again. Almost all the players who were infected and injured at short notice will be back in the game on Saturday in Flensburg. However, the long-term injured Leif Tissier, Thies Bergemann and Jan Kleineidam will be missing. Otherwise, all players should return and be fit for action. At least HSV will therefore travel to the north with a good feeling.
Projected line-up of HSV Hamburg:
Bitter, Maier – Andersen, Axmann, Bauer, Forstbauer, Gertges, Mortensen, Schimmelbauer, Späth, Theillinger, Ossenkopp, Vaiullin, Wullenweber – coach: Jansen
Last matches played by HSV Hamburg:
Bundesliga
21/04/2022 – TSV Hannover-Burgdorf 29 – 27 HSV Hamburg
10/04/2022 – HSV Hamburg 29 – 34 Balingen-Weilstetten
07/04/2022 – Rhein-Neckar-Löwen 28 – 34 HSV Hamburg
03/04/2022 – HSV Hamburg 24 – 33 SC DHfK Leipzig
27/03/2022 – GWD Minden 23 – 27 HSV Hamburg
Flensburg – HSV Hamburg Direct comparison / H2H balance
40 matches have now been played between the SG Flensburg-Handewitt and HSV Hamburg. However, the direct comparison is not very meaningful, because 39 of these games took place before HSV’s insolvency, i.e. at a time when Hamburg were one of the best teams in Europe and won the German championship and the Champions League.
After victories, Flensburg is just ahead with 18:17. Five games ended in a draw. However, the last four games all went to the SG. The first leg in the current season was won by the Schleswig-Holstein team in Hamburg with 33:27. The two Swedes Jim Gottfridsson and Hampus Wanne were the decisive players on the Flensburg side.
Flensburg – HSV Hamburg Tip
Flensburg will do everything in their power not to falter against the promoted team on Saturday. Especially in their own hall, the SG has been very successful in recent months. Of the last 19 home games, the team from Schleswig-Holstein has only lost one. Therefore, Maik Machulla’s team is the clear favourite for this match.
The Hamburg team has lost three of the last four games, but put an exclamation mark on their record with the win at Rhein-Neckar Löwen and also played a great game with a skeleton team in Hannover. Therefore, we expect the Hanseatic League to deliver a good game in the derby on Saturday as well.
However, we don’t expect the handicap to be extremely high. Maik Machulla’s team will try to pull away quickly, but then save some energy, because they still have some tough tasks ahead of them. Therefore, we have decided to play the betting odds on a handicap win (+6.5) for the visitors between Flensburg and HSV Hamburg.
