Magdeburg with world title number four?
On the Day of German Unity, handball fans will also be looking to Egypt. The final of the IHF Super Globe will be held in the new capital. On Thursday, the defending champions will be aiming for their fourth Club World Cup triumph in a row. In our Magdeburg v Veszprem betting tip, we take a look at whether the German champions will return home from the desert with the winner’s trophy.
Whether it was a wise decision to hold this IHF Super Globe in a retort city in the middle of the Sahara is something those responsible will have to think about. Not even when the Egyptian clubs were on the pitch were more than 1,000 spectators interested in the matches. In the preliminary round, the clash between Veszprem and Handebol Taubate from Brazil attracted just 95 spectators in an arena that can accommodate 7,500 fans.
Even if the setting is anything but worthy, an important title is at stake on Thursday. The Hungarians have made the slightly better impression in the new Egyptian capital. At first glance, we are therefore inclined to predict a victory for the Magyars between Magdeburg and Veszprem. After 2015, this will be the second final for the 28-time Hungarian champions.
But if there is one club that has enjoyed the IHF Super Globe stage recently, it is SC Magdeburg. The Anhalt-based club has won all of its last 15 games at the Club World Cup. That’s why you can definitely think about using a Bet365 offer code to bet on SC Magdeburg as the winner. A fourth consecutive triumph would be a first at this tournament.
Magdeburg – Statistics & current form
Maybe sometimes you have to get the dirty wins to overcome a phase in which things aren’t going particularly well otherwise. It’s all the better if you can then get back on the winning track and win the games. Up until the Super Globe, the world tournament in Egypt, the German champions’ season had not really gone smoothly.
Mixed start to the season for the champions
In the Bundesliga, Bennet Wiegert’s team got off to a 4-2 start, but lost another home game after an eternity when they were beaten by THW Kiel. In the Champions League, they only managed a 3:3 draw. What’s more, they squandered their first title of the season in the national Supercup against Füchse Berlin.
The team has now won three games in a row, but when you consider that their opponents came from the United States, Asia and Africa, they were all must-wins. The SCM even won against the California Eagles with a 36-goal difference. In the semi-final against the hosts Al Ahly, however, the team from Anhalt had to stretch themselves for a long time. Magdeburg only took the lead midway through the second half, but then went on to win 28:24.
Manuel Zehnder showed off his scoring prowess for the first time for SCM and was the man of the match with nine goals. Bennet Wiegert will not be able to count on his entire squad on Thursday either. Tim Hornke, Philipp Weber and Felix Claar will still not be available. A wider squad would certainly be an advantage, especially against the strongest opponent the SCM will face in Egypt.
Predicted line-up of Magdeburg:
Hernandez, Portner – Musche, Mertens, Persson, Pettersson, Zechel, Saugstrup, Bergendahl, Serradilla, Damgaard, Zehnder, Kristjansson, O’Sullivan, Magnusson, Lagergren – Coach: Wiegert
Veszprem – statistics & current form
Telekom Veszprem has assembled a team that could hardly be more balanced. In coach Xavier Pascual Fuertes, they also have a coach who has won everything with FC Barcelona. Among other things, the coach has won the IHF Super Globe five times. Now he could become the first coach to win the Club World Cup with two different clubs.
Mixed start to the season for the champions
The Hungarians have had an outstanding squad for years. But perhaps the last piece of the puzzle was missing on the bench to finally celebrate the really big successes. In addition to the Super Globe, the Champions League is also missing from the trophy collection. We think that at least one dry spell will be over on Thursday and are sticking with our prediction of a Hungarian success between Magdeburg and Veszprem.
The Magyars have been on the road in three competitions this season. In the Hungarian league, they have 6-0 points after three games. In the Champions League, after wins against Füchse Berlin and Paris Saint-Germain, they suffered a somewhat surprising defeat at Sporting Lisbon and have 4:2 points. They also won three Super Globe matches, including an overtime victory against FC Barcelona in the semi-finals.
Frenchman Hugo Descat was once again his team’s best scorer with nine goals. All in all, Veszprem has had a very decent season so far. Eight wins in nine games, some of them against very well-known opponents, are absolutely impressive. There are no major personnel concerns. Coach Xavier Pascual Fuertes only has to do without one player, the young Barna Daniel.
Predicted Veszprem line-up:
Corrales, Jensen – Casado, Cindric, Descat, El-Deraa, Elisson, Fabregas, Grahovac, Kosorotov, Ligetvari, Pechmalbec, Remili, Sandell, Vailupau, Vegh – Coach: Pascual Fuertes
Magdeburg – Veszprem Head-to-head comparison / H2H result
To date, SC Magdeburg and Telekom Veszprem have met eight times. The Hungarians have fared slightly better in the direct comparison and are 4:3 ahead after wins. A single encounter ended in a draw. The last two encounters took place in the European Champions League last season.
It is interesting to note that both clubs lost their home games. The Magyars first won 33:28 in Magdeburg, while SCM gained revenge with a 30:28 victory in Hungary in the second leg of the group stage. This fixture will be played on neutral territory on Thursday. There is no home advantage or even disadvantage with the manageable number of spectators anyway.
Magdeburg – Veszprem betting tip
With three top European teams in the twelve-team field of this IHF Super Globe, the only question was basically which two EHF teams would meet in the final. Now it’s Magdeburg and Veszprem. The German serial winners have made this Club World Championship their competition and have recently triumphed three times in a row. No team has ever won four titles in a row at the Super Globe.
However, Bennet Wiegert’s team is not yet really good in this new season. They have already lost points in the Bundesliga and the Champions League. SCM has not always looked confident in the Super Globe either. The German champions even had extreme difficulties in the semi-final against Al Ahly. Therefore, betting on a German victory between Magdeburg and Veszprem in the Betano app is not our first choice.
The Hungarians look much more settled this season. Eight wins in nine games, including against Füchse Berlin, PSG and Barcelona, show what Xavier Pascual Fuertes’ team is capable of. We therefore think that the title will go to Hungary this year and have decided to play the odds on a win for the Magyars between Magdeburg and Veszprem
