Is Magdeburg facing a crisis?

The workload that the world’s best handball players have to do is tough. In particular, the players who were still at the Olympic Games in Paris and Lille in the summer are finding it difficult to get into the season now. In the Champions League, this burden is not unique to any team. However, the fact that some players need a break as early as matchday three of the Champions League is also reflected in our Aalborg Handbold v Magdeburg betting tip.

Group B in the Champions League is supposedly the easier pool. However, with the title defender from Barcelona, Aalborg and Magdeburg, we find three of the four semi-finalists from last year. The rematch of the semi-final between the Danish and German champions could be very important in terms of one of the first two places in this group, which means direct qualification for the quarter-finals.

The first two matchdays in this group of eight have already shown how evenly matched the premier class has become. Barcelona is the only team to have won its first two games, while Kolstad Handball has two defeats to its name. All the other six teams have 2:2 points each after one win and one loss. The minimum goal for our two opponents remains sixth place to make the playoffs.

The odds suggest that forecasting the outcome of the game between Aalborg Handbold and Magdeburg is a very difficult task. The prices for a home and an away win are very close at our tested betting provider Betano. A stable defense, few time penalties and consistent conversion of their own chances will ultimately decide the winner and loser in this game.

Aalborg Handball – Statistics & current form

In fact, it is more than just a normal Champions League game when Aalborg meets a German team. Numerous players from the Danish champions were under contract with Bundesliga clubs for a long time. Juri Knorr, a German national team player, is on his way to Denmark and will earn his money at Aalborg Handbold in the upcoming season.

Maik Machulla expects his youth club

And then there is Maik Machulla. The coach of the Danes played in Magdeburg as a youth and won the Champions League with Bennet Wiegert when he was his first professional station. Now he has been a player and coach in Flensburg for a long time, but a game against his childhood sweetheart is probably still something very special.

The Danes have had a very decent start to the season and have already won their first title by beating GOG in the Danish Super Cup. In total, they have won six and lost one of seven matches in the new season. This came as something of a surprise in the premier class at RK Zagreb. However, last weekend there was a clear 32:26 victory over the runners-up Fredericia.

Overall, the form is good, so we are looking at the odds for a home win in the duel between Aalborg Handbold and Magdeburg. However, the Danes have to do without two very important players. The two Danish Olympic champions Niklas Landin and Henrik Möllgard are out, as is left wing Buster Juul. In particular, the knee injury of the world’s top goalkeeper will keep Maik Machulla’s team extremely busy over the next two months.

Expected line-up of Aalborg Handbold:
Norsten, Hellberg – Antonsen, Arnoldsen, Barthold, Björnsen, Hald Jensen, Larsen, Möller, Munk, Nilsson, Soares, Thurin, Vestergaard, Vlah, Wiesmach – Coach: Machulla

Magdeburg – Statistics & current form

It is becoming increasingly clear how much the last few years have taken a toll on SC Magdeburg. In all competitions, the Anhalt team has always been in the thick of the action until the very end. Almost the entire squad also wears the jersey of their national teams. After the Olympic Games, Bennet Wiegert has already sounded the alarm and his warnings should come true early in the season.

Tim Hornke and Felix Claar are out for a long time with injuries. Philipp Weber is complaining of problems with his adductors and will probably not be an option in Aalborg either. Bennet Wiegert still has plenty of quality in his squad. However, the depth is significantly reduced by the injuries and with the large number of games, Magdeburg is already having to push its players beyond their limits.

On top of that, the team is facing the task of defending their title in the IHF Super Globe again at the weekend. SC Magdeburg will have to travel to Egypt for the event and play two games against the California Eagles from the USA and Al Khaleej from Saudi Arabia at the weekend. On Wednesday, however, the focus will still be on the Champions League, and in view of the latest results, we think that the prediction of a Danish home win could fit between Aalborg Handbold and Magdeburg.

The German champions have played six competitive games so far this season, winning just three but also conceding three defeats. They lost the Super Cup to Füchse Berlin, suffered a defeat in the premier league against Pick Szeged, and, after a two-year absence, lost again at home in the Bundesliga last Sunday, going down 24:29 against THW Kiel.

Predicted Magdeburg line-up:
Hernandez, Portner – Bergendahl, Damgaard, Kristjansson, Lagergren, Magnusson, Mertens, Musche, O’Sullivan, Persson, Pettersson, Saugstrup, Serradilla, Zechel, Zehnder – Coach: Wiegert

Aalborg Handball – Magdeburg Head-to-head comparison / H2H record

To date, Aalborg Handbold and SC Magdeburg have only met six times. In the direct comparison, the reigning German champions are 4-2 up. But if we take a closer look, the four competitive matches have ended 2-2. There has only been one Champions League game between the two, but it was a doozy.

Last season, the teams met at the Final Four in the Lanxess Arena in Cologne. In the semi-final, the Danes won 28:26 and buried the dreams of the Anhalters of defending the title in the premier class. Mads Hoxer was the decisive man with eight goals for the Danish champions, who, however, lost to Barcelona in the final.

Aalborg Handball – Magdeburg betting tip

SC Magdeburg has actually had problems in offense this season. They have scored 30 goals in four of six games. The 25 goals they scored at home against THW Kiel last weekend were an inglorious exception, but could be an indication that fewer than 60 goals will be scored in Aalborg as well. We will definitely keep an eye on the under goals.

As for the win, the Danes are in good shape with six wins in the first seven games of the season. However, Maik Machulla has to do without important players. The loss of Niklas Landin in particular is likely to weigh heavily. However, the guests from the Börde also have personnel problems, so we are sticking to placing a bet on a home win for Aalborg Handbold in the Bwin app between Aalborg Handbold and Magdeburg.

We believe that the German champions are still feeling the effects of their first home defeat in the Bundesliga in a good two years. Added to this is the fact that the next big tournament, the IHF Super Globe, is already upon them. The pressure should be too much for the visitors and that’s why we have decided to raise the betting odds on a home win between Aalborg Handbold and Magdeburg.