Top match in Handball Cup
Not only in football, but also in handball the second round in the cup competition will be played this week. While there are no headline matches in football, two absolute heavyweights of German handball, Flensburg-Handewitt and Füchsen Berlin, will face each other in the DHB Cup. However, one of the two title contenders will have to pull out of the race early on.
In total, both clubs have not won the DHB Cup very often. Flensburg have four cup victories on their letterhead, while Berlin only triumphed once in this competition in 2014. Both teams, as top teams in the Bundesliga, only enter the DHB Cup in this second round and make their first appearance on Wednesday.
Of course, it is a big deal to enter the Final Four and play for the title, but even a defeat would not be the end of the world, because both still have an extensive programme to complete with the Bundesliga and the European League. We expect a match of equals, so in the match between Flensburg and Füchsen Berlin the forecast seems relatively complicated.
Flensburg – Statistics & current form
The SG Flensburg-Handewitt and the DHB Cup have had anything but a love affair in recent years. While they have been champions twice in the last six years, the cup has always been over by the round of 16 at the latest. It doesn’t seem to be the competition of Maik Machulla and his team and maybe the SG will again suffer the fate of early elimination this season.
Faltering performances
The current form of Flensburg is a bit strange. There have only been three wins in the last six games. For a top German team, that is not a good record. Apart from the two victories in the European League qualifiers against the overmatched Polish representative MMTS Kwidzyn, there was also a win against the reigning champions SC Magdeburg.
On the other hand, there were also defeats at Rhein-Neckar Löwen and, before the international break, a surprisingly clear 21:26 defeat at TBV Lemgo. In the Bundesliga, the title fight is over for the time being with 9:5 points and seventh place. Perhaps the North Germans will now use the DHB Cup to get back on track with a win and start a race to catch up.
After the defeat in Lemgo, the international break came at the right time, with most of the players away with their national teams. So coming to terms with the defeat was a bit tricky. That could also be a reason why you should definitely also look at the odds for an away win in the cup match between Flensburg and Füchsen Berlin.
Predicted line-up of Flensburg:
Buric, K. Möller – Einarsson, Golla, Gottfridsson, Hald Jensen, Jakobsen, Johannessen, Mensah Larsen, Lindskog, L. Möller, Pedersen, Röd, Semper – Coach: Machulla
Last games of Flensburg:
Bundesliga
09/10/2022 – TBV Lemgo 26 – 21 SG Flensburg-Handewitt
EHF European League Preliminary Rounds
04/10/2022 – SG Flensburg-Handewitt 37 – 24 MMTS Kwidzyn
Bundesliga
01/10/2022 – SG Flensburg-Handewitt 35 – 34 SC Magdeburg
EHF European League Preliminary Rounds
27/09/2022 – MMTS Kwidzyn 25 – 39 SG Flensburg-Handewitt
Bundesliga
24/09/2022 – Rhein-Neckar-Löwen 28 – 27 SG Flensburg-Handewitt
Füchse Berlin – statistics & current form
Füchse Berlin want to launch the really big attack this season. The capital city team finally wants to become German champions for the first time. The squad has everything it takes to achieve this goal. After seven games, they have 13:1 points in the Bundesliga. This puts them in second place behind the Rhein-Neckar Löwen, who are without a loss.
Personnel worries for the Füchse
The advantage of the Berliners so far has been that they have not had a multiple burden. In the European League, Jaron Siewert’s team is directly seeded for the group phase and therefore did not have to qualify. So far, the Füchse have always been able to send a fresh team to the plate in the Bundesliga. With the start of the group phase in the European Cup, however, this circumstance is now changing.
So far this season, the Berliners are still undefeated. Therefore, we can imagine that we will now also predict a handicap victory (+1.5) for the capital in the duel between Flensburg and Füchse Berlin. Jaron Siewert’s team also travels with a very broad chest, because THW Kiel was chased out of the Max-Schmeling-Halle with 34:26 before the international break.
It’s not every day that you win by eight goals against the Zebras. The self-confidence, however, is somewhat diminished by the personnel situation before the cup clash. Mathias Gidsel returned from the Danish national team with a hand injury. Fabian Wiede is struggling with a ligament injury and will probably not be fit for action again until the weekend. Lasse Andersson is still injured and Paul Drux is waiting for the birth of his daughter. The international is provisionally in the squad, but could also leave before kick-off.
Predicted line-up of Füchse Berlin:
Kireev, Milosavljev – Chrintz, Darj, Drux, Freihofer, Holm, Kopljar, Langhoff, Lichtlein, Lindberg, Marsenic, Vujovic, Walter – Coach: Siewert
Last matches of Füchse Berlin:
Bundesliga
09/10/2022 – Füchse Berlin 34 – 26 THW Kiel
02/10/2022 – MT Melsungen 29 – 32 Füchse Berlin
22/09/2022 – Füchse Berlin 37 – 26 ASV Hamm-Westfalen
15/09/2022 – SG Flensburg-Handewitt 31 – 31 Füchse Berlin
11/09/2022 – Füchse Berlin 31 – 21 TVB 1898 Stuttgart
Flensburg – Füchse Berlin Direct comparison / H2H balance
The SG Flensburg-Handewitt and Füchse Berlin have played a total of 40 matches. In the direct comparison, the northern lights have a clear lead. After victories, the score is 25:8 for the Flensburg team. Seven duels ended in a draw. In terms of the odds, that’s an extremely high number of point-splits between these two clubs.
There are no series worth mentioning. After all, the Capitals have been waiting for a win against the SG for three games. Just over a month ago, this match already took place in the Bundesliga, when Mathias Gidsel really turned it on for the Berliners and scored eleven times alone in a 31-31 win. Maik Machulla’s team only managed to secure a point in what seemed a certain defeat with a show of strength in the final minutes.
Flensburg – Füchse Berlin Tip
Flensburg are going through a mixed phase at the moment. They have only won three of their last six games, at least against the champions from Magdeburg, but Maik Machulla’s team went into the international break with a clear defeat against Lemgo. Therefore, you always have to see which face the SG will show on Wednesday.
However, the cup has not been the competition of the Northern Germans for years. With Füchsen Berlin, we now have an opponent who has not lost yet this season. From there, we can imagine that the capitals will prevail in this match.
However, the Berliners have some personnel worries. Mathias Gidsel and Lasse Andersson will certainly be missing. Maybe Fabian Wiede will make it to kick-off after all. Jaron Siewert’s team, however, has an incredibly broad squad this season and that is why we have decided to play the betting odds between Flensburg and the Füchsen Berlin on a narrow victory for the guests.
