Sebastian Hinze at old place of work
In the final table of last season, Bergische HC and Rhein-Neckar Löwen were neighbours. The Westphalians ended up in eleventh place, the Mannheimers were just one point ahead in tenth. While this ranking was decent for the BHC, the RNL fell far short of expectations. Currently, it looks like the two clubs will part ways again in the standings.
The Löwen of Bergischen HC are currently in tenth place in the table with 4:6 points, exactly where new coach Jamal Naji’s team was expected to be. Rhein-Neckar Löwen, on the other hand, have managed to get their pace back on the board in this early stage of the season and are perhaps the surprise team of the still young season.
10:0 points the Mannheim side have on their account after five games and are the only team in the Bundesliga without a loss besides THW Kiel and champions Magdeburg.
Coach Sebastian Hinze, who moved from BHC to Rhein-Neckar Löwen, seems to be doing everything right in his first weeks in his new job. Now comes the return to his ex-club and there, too, it looks like the Mannheim side will be able to keep their clean slate. We are clearly leaning towards placing a tip on a handicap win for the visitors between Bergischer HC and Rhein-Neckar Löwen.
Bergischer HC – Statistics & current form
It was already a considerable bloodletting that the Lions of Bergischer HC had to endure. Not only has coach Sebastian Hinze left for Mannheim, but with Max Darj, David Schmidt and Tomas Mrkva, three absolute key players have also left the club. The newcomers will hardly be able to fill these gaps.
The BHC shows what it promises
However, things have been going quite well up to this point. The BHC got the results that were to be expected. After five match days in the Bundesliga, their record is 2:3 wins. The team from the Bergisches Land is anything but a surprise package and therefore we assume that in the duel Bergischer HC against Rhein-Neckar Löwen only the odds on an away win are interesting.
Perhaps it was the first time last Thursday in the guest game in Hamburg when the Westphalians made less of the game than one might have thought. Basically, BHC had no chance over 60 minutes. After the 4:4 HSV Handball took the lead and extended it continuously until the final whistle. In the end, the Bergische Löwen even went down by double digits at 23:33.
23 own goals against a team from the midfield of the Bundesliga are an extremely poor result. This was due to numerous technical errors, which were a common thread in the Löwen’s game. If Jamal Naji’s team makes as many mistakes of their own on Thursday, it could be a very bitter evening in Düsseldorf.
Predicted line-up of Bergischer HC:
Johannesson, Rudeck – Arnesson, Babak, Bergner, Beyer, Fraatz, Gunnarsson, Ladefoged, M’Bengue, Nikolaisen, Nothdurft, Persson, Schönningsen, Stutzke, Weck, Coach: Naji
Last matches played by Bergischer HC:
Bundesliga
22/09/2022 – HSV Hamburg 33 – 23 Bergischer HC
15/09/2022 – Bergischer HC 32 – 28 TBV Lemgo
11/09/2022 – THW Kiel 35 – 29 Bergischer HC
07/09/2022 – Bergischer HC 22 – 23 TSV Hannover-Burgdorf
04/09/2022 – GWD Minden 25 – 28 Bergischer HC
Rhein-Neckar-Löwen – Statistics & current form
It sounds strange, but perhaps it was good for the Rhein-Neckar Löwen that Andy Schmid is winding down his career at home. The responsibility of winning a game was far too much in the hands of the Swiss. Now this has been spread over several shoulders and together with the new impetus Sebastian Hinze has given the club, things are going outstandingly so far this season.
Perfect start to the season for the Lions
The Löwen have won all five games this season. With Melsungen, Leipzig and most recently Flensburg, they have faced some tough opponents. That’s why we have to take our hats off to the Mannheim team’s performance so far this season. This also means that we will go out on a limb and predict a handicap win (-4.5) for the visitors in the match between Bergischer HC and Rhein-Neckar Löwen.
Last Saturday, the SG Flensburg were guests in the SAP Arena and it developed into the expected top match between two teams who may have their sights set on the championship this season. Throughout the entire match, no team was able to lead by more than three goals. Whenever it was the Flensburg team’s turn, RNL went one better.
Uwe Gensheimer was particularly successful. The former captain of the German national team was the match-winner in this game with ten goals. The Rhein-Neckar Löwen are about to get into a flow. With possible wins in Düsseldorf and then at home against Minden, they could well go into the top match at THW Kiel on 6 October with a clean slate.
Predicted line-up of Rhein-Neckar-Löwen:
Appelgren, Birlehm – Ahouansou, Forsell Schefvert, Gensheimer, Gislason, Groetzki, Helander, Horzen, Jaganjac, Kirkelökke, Knorr, Kohlbacher, Lagergren, Michalski – Coach: Hinze
Last matches played by Rhein-Neckar-Löwen:
Bundesliga
24/09/2022 – Rhein-Neckar-Löwen 28 – 27 SG Flensburg-Handewitt
18/09/2022 – TVB 1898 Stuttgart 30 – 43 Rhein-Neckar-Löwen
15/09/2022 – Rhein-Neckar-Löwen 30 – 24 SC DHfK Leipzig
08/09/2022 – ASV Hamm-Westfalen 30 – 35 Rhein-Neckar-Löwen
04/09/2022 – Rhein-Neckar-Löwen 36 – 25 MT Melsungen
Bergischer HC – Rhein-Neckar-Löwen Direct comparison / H2H balance
To date, Bergischer HC and Rhein-Neckar Löwen have faced each other in 19 duels. The direct comparison between these two clubs speaks volumes. After victories, the Mannheim team is 17:1 ahead. On another occasion, the team from Bergisches Land fought their way to a draw. The Bergischer HC’s only victory was many years ago.
Almost exactly eight years ago, BHC narrowly won at home with 24:23. Since then, the Bergische Löwen have been waiting for a victory against the RNL for 14 games. Last season, the game was close twice. First, the points were shared at BHC’s home game. In the SAP Arena, the Rhein-Neckar Löwen struggled to a 24:22 home win at the beginning of May.
Bergischer HC – Rhein-Neckar-Löwen Tip
Bergischer HC lost quite a lot of personnel substance and quality before the season. It will not be possible to compensate for this loss over an entire season. Ex-coach Sebastian Hinze has also changed sides and will adjust his new to his old team. The RNL coach knows the upcoming opponent inside out.
On top of that, the visitors from Mannheim are in great form and have won all five games this season. And they have played tough opponents. Therefore, there is no need to worry about the role of the favourites in this match.
Generally, the BHC looked bad against the Rhein-Neckar Löwen. In 19 direct duels, there was only one victory for the Westphalians. We think that this record will hardly improve on Thursday. Instead, we expect the RNL to take over the lead in the standings and have decided to play the betting odds on a handicap win (-4.5) for the visitors between Bergischer HC and Rhein-Neckar Löwen.
