Will the Zebras keep their clean sheet?
It’s an international break in football at the moment. The clubs can take it easy for a bit. In handball it’s a different story. The workload remains high, especially for the teams that have to compete internationally. That also continues to be the case for THW Kiel, who have to play their second group game in the Champions League this Wednesday at the Slovenian champions in Celje.
The table in this preliminary round group with eight teams has of course little meaning after only one match. But it is a nice snapshot for the German runners-up that they are on top with 2:0 points and a goal difference of +10 after the victory over Elverum. With another win in Slovenia, they could already establish themselves in the upper reaches of the standings.
The Zebras’ goal remains to finish in one of the top two places in order to avoid the round of 16 and move directly into the quarter-finals. The Slovenians lost their opening match in Aalborg and still have no points.
All appearances suggest that Filip Jicha’s team will even be able to celebrate a clear success. Up to this point, the team from Schleswig-Holstein has only rushed through the season and THW currently seems to be very difficult to stop. Therefore, our first assessment goes in the direction of placing a bet on a clear away victory between Celje and THW Kiel, possibly with a corresponding handicap.
Celje – Statistics & current form
Celje Pivovarna Lasko is the measure of all things in Slovenian handball and is by far the national record champion. At international level, however, they have tended to lag behind the music for the last good 15 years. In 2004, however, the Slovenians won the Champions League once and have reached the semifinals six other times, the last time, however, in the 2004/05 season.
National favourites, international outsiders only
These figures show, however, that Celje has a very great tradition and that a correspondingly large number of fans can be expected in the Zlatorog Arena. So far this season, things are going as expected. Nationally, everything is in the green, but internationally, it is difficult to keep up with the top teams. Therefore, we will spare ourselves a look at the odds for a victory for the Slovenians in the duel Celje vs.
In the Slovenian league, the Pivovarji have picked up two wins from two matches. Overall, however, their record of 2-1 wins from three games this season is still open to improvement. Last weekend, the Slovenian champions had to face Jerusalem Ormoz at home. Alem Toskic’s team had no problems keeping the two points in their own hall with a 34:27 victory.
The Slovenians were again able to rely on Nebojsa Bojic, who together with Benjamin Buric of the SG Flensburg-Handewitt keeps the goal for the Bosnian national team. Otherwise, the focus will be on playmaker and captain Aleks Vlah, who already proved his class in Aalborg. Right winger Gal Marguc was also in a scoring mood there.
Predicted line-up of Celje:
Balkaied, Bojic – Cokan, Ivankovic, Janc, Knez, Marguc, Martinovic, Mazej, Mlakar, Muhovic, Strmljan, Suholeznik, Vlah, Zabic – Coach: Toskic
Last matches played by Celje:
1st League NLB
18/09/2022 – Celje Pivovarna Lasko 34 – 27 RK Jeruzalem Ormoz
Champions League Grp. B
15/09/2022 – Aalborg Handball 36 – 32 Celje Pivovarna Lasko
1st League NLB
09/09/2022 – MRK Krka 28 – 30 Celje Pivovarna Lasko
27/05/2022 – Celje Pivovarna Lasko 34 – 26 RK Svis
21/05/2022 – Dobova 28 – 37 Celje Pivovarna Lasko
THW Kiel – statistics & current form
It was a bit of a guessing game as to how good THW Kiel would be in the new season. The absences of Hendrik Pekeler and Sander Sagosen continue to weigh heavily, but the new additions around Petter Överby, Eric Johansson or Karl Wallinius clearly show that the Zebras are even able to compensate for the long absence of two absolute top stars in world handball.
Winning streak to start the season
So far, there is nothing to complain about in Kiel’s start to the season. Filip Jicha’s team has already played six competitive games this season and won them all. They have won four in the German Bundesliga. In addition, there was the success in the top flight against the Norwegian champions Elverum and last but not least, the Zebras have already bagged the first title of the season with the German Supercup in the final against champions Magdeburg.
So things couldn’t be better, especially since Kiel usually win big and hardly give their opponents a chance. Therefore, one could definitely predict an away win with a difference of six to ten goals in the match Celje against THW Kiel. However, the Schleswig-Holstein team did not settle for that last weekend.
THW were guests of the relegation candidates in Minden and showed from the beginning who is the master in the house. Filip Jicha was able to give all players time on the pitch and almost all of them scored. In the end, the Zebras won 34:18 away from home with a 16-goal difference. Even against a team from the bottom of the table, that’s a real achievement.
Predicted line-up of THW Kiel:
N. Landin, Mrkva – Bilyk, Dahmke, Duvnjak, Ehrig, Ekberg, M. Landin, Johansson, Överby, Reinkind, Schwormstede, Wallinius, Weinhold, Wiencek, Zarabec – Coach: Jicha
Last matches played by THW Kiel:
Bundesliga
18/09/2022 – GWD Minden 18 – 34 THW Kiel
Champions League Grp. B
14/09/2022 – THW Kiel 36 – 26 Elverum
Bundesliga
11/09/2022 – THW Kiel 35 – 29 Bergischer HC
07/09/2022 – SC DHfK Leipzig 22 – 32 THW Kiel
04/09/2022 – THW Kiel 36 – 23 TVB 1898 Stuttgart
Celje – THW Kiel Direct comparison / H2H-balance
To date, the paths of handball greats Celje and THW Kiel have crossed a total of ten times. In the direct comparison, the German record champions have the edge with 7:2 victories. Once there was a draw between the two opponents. Most recently, the team from Schleswig-Holstein has won three matches in a row against the Slovenians.
The last games took place in the Champions League season 2020/21, when the Kielers first won very clearly in the group phase in Slovenia with 35:24. The second leg in the Wunderino Arena was a little closer, but the Zebras kept the upper hand in the end as well, winning by a four-goal difference at 33:29.
Celje – THW Kiel Tip
Celje have a young and hungry team that could feed off the atmosphere in their own hall on Wednesday. This means that the Zebras must look to steer the game in their direction early on to avoid anything like a witch’s cauldron. Filip Jicha’s team certainly has the qualities for that.
After all, the Kiel team have won all six of their competitive matches this season and have usually had the upper hand by a wide margin.
But if Kiel manage to play up to their class and routine, and Niklas Landin has his usual good day in the Zebras’ goal, then we have no doubt that Filip Jicha’s side will bring home another relatively clear success. That’s why we decided to play the betting odds between Celje and THW Kiel on an away win with a six to ten goal difference for the Zebras.
