Magdeburg on the way to a triple
Everything looks like it will be SC Magdeburg’s best season in the club’s history. The Anhalt-based team has already won the World Cup in handball this season and three more titles are in the offing in the coming weeks. Bennet Wiegert’s team can win the first one this weekend at the Handball Final Four in Hamburg.
In the semifinals, the SCM first has to face HC Erlangen on Saturday. Already in this encounter, the Bundesliga leader is clearly favoured. Then it could come to a showdown in the final against THW Kiel. For all neutral handball fans, this would certainly be the favoured final.
But one should never take the second step before the first. First of all, the Magdeburg team will fully focus on the semifinals. Especially in the Final Four, we have experienced one or two surprises in the last few years. But we think that in the semi-final between Magdeburg and Erlangen you should be right with a prediction of a favourite victory.
The Franconians are the big underdogs in this encounter. Just being in this final tournament in Hamburg is already an achievement for Raul Alonso’s team. Perhaps it will be the biggest game in the HCE’s so chequered history on Saturday. However, the tendency in this duel between Magdeburg and Erlangen already goes very clearly to a victory of the SCM.
Magdeburg – Statistics & current form
What a season for SC Magdeburg. Last year Bennet Wiegert’s side won the IHF Super Globe and are officially the best club team in the world. With a six-point lead in the Bundesliga, the Anhalt team will hardly let the German championship slip out of their hands. In the European League, Magdeburg are in the quarter-finals against Nantes and will do everything in their power to defend this title.
Many trophies within reach
And then there is the Final Four in the DHB Cup. So it could be a season with four titles. If we add the upcoming Supercup, there could even be another trophy on top. Bennet Wiegert’s team is currently the measure of all things in German handball, so it should be clear that we are mainly looking at the odds on an SCM win in the Magdeburg vs. Erlangen semifinal.
This is also due to the fact that the Anhaltiners continue to be in super form on the road. In 2022, there was only one defeat and one draw in 16 games. Apart from that, the SCM has won 14 games and underpins its ambitions week after week. However, the programme is also quite lavish. If they win the semi-final on Saturday, the final is on Sunday and the European League continues on Tuesday in Nantes.
Bennet Wiegert’s team cannot save any energy at the moment. In every game, they have to go all out to achieve their high goals. Due to the international break, the batteries should at least be full for the time being. The last match was a fortnight ago, when Magdeburg won 29:26 against HSG Wetzlar.
Predicted line-up of Magdeburg:
Green, Jensen – Bezjak, Chrapkowski, Damgaard, Gullerud, Hornke, Kristjansson, Magnusson, Mertens, Musche, O’Sullivan, Pettersson, Saugstrup, Smits, Weber – coach: Wiegert
Last matches played by Magdeburg:
Bundesliga
10/04/2022 – HSG Wetzlar 26 – 29 SC Magdeburg
EHF European League Final Stage
06/04/2022 – SC Magdeburg 36 – 35 Sporting CP
Bundesliga
31/03/2022 – SC Magdeburg 30 – 22 TSV Hannover-Burgdorf
EHF European League Final Stage
30/03/2022 – Sporting CP 29 – 29 SC Magdeburg
Bundesliga
26/03/2022 – SC Magdeburg 25 – 30 THW Kiel
Erlangen – Statistics & current form
HC Erlangen is once again delivering what could be expected of them this season. In the Bundesliga, the team from the Hugenottenstadt is currently in 14th place. However, the cushion to the relegation places is six plus points and even eight minus points. Relegation is still mathematically possible, but the Franconians will probably no longer be in danger of being pushed all the way to the bottom.
The big underdog
Therefore, the focus may be fully on the Final Four. HCE is probably the biggest underdog in this cup tournament, but there is still a chance to win the first title in the club’s history. After all, they have already knocked two strong opponents out of the competition, Flensburg and Wetzlar, and the role of the underdog seems to suit Raul Alonso’s team.
The Erlangen team is flirting a bit with this underdog role. But with Sebastian Firnhaber, Steffen Fäth and Antonio Metzner, the HCE has some well-known German players in its ranks. The plan is to enjoy the weekend, and after all, so many fans will be travelling to Hamburg with them, as has never been the case for an away game for the Franconians.
The HCE have lost three of the last four or five of the last seven games. The only victories during that time came against the relegation candidates Nettelstedt-Lübbecke and Bergischer HC. In Hamburg, completely different calibres are now waiting and therefore, before the semifinal between Magdeburg and Erlangen, we dare to predict that the HCE will not enter the final.
Predicted line-up of Erlangen:
Ferlin, Ziemer – Bissel, Büdel, Fäth, Firnhaber, Jäger, Jeppsson, Link, Marschall, Metzner, Olsson, Seitz, Sellin, Zechel – Coach: Alonso
Last matches played by Erlangen:
Bundesliga
07/04/2022 – HC Erlangen 30 – 23 Bergischer HC
31/03/2022 – TVB 1898 Stuttgart 34 – 29 HC Erlangen
25/03/2022 – HC Erlangen 23 – 25 FA Göppingen
11/03/2022 – HSV Hamburg 30 – 29 HC Erlangen
06/03/2022 – HC Erlangen 29 – 22 TuS-N-Lübbecke
Magdeburg – Erlangen Direct comparison / H2H balance
The paths of SC Magdeburg and HC Erlangen have crossed only 13 times so far. We should not assume extra time on Saturday, but that is rarely the case in handball anyway. Until today, there has never been a draw between these two opponents. In the direct comparison, the Anhalt team is ahead with 10:3 victories.
The SCM has won four of the last five matches. In the current season, however, the Bundesliga leaders had a very narrow 28:27 home victory in the Getec Arena. We don’t expect the semi-final in the DHB Cup to be that close on Saturday. Both teams will meet again in the second leg of the Bundesliga match at the beginning of May.
Germany Magdeburg – Erlangen tip
SC Magdeburg can win numerous titles this season, while HC Erlangen has a completely different goal with staying in the league. This fact alone makes it clear how the balance of power should be on Saturday. The Bundesliga leaders are the clear favourites. After all, they have conceded only one defeat against THW Kiel in 16 games in 2022.
Erlangen, on the other hand, have suffered three defeats in their last four Bundesliga games. However, the first leg in the German Bundesliga was a tight affair. Magdeburg secured victory in their own hall with only a one-goal difference in the end.
We think Bennet Wiegert’s team will want to decide the story early. After all, there would still be the final on Sunday and on Tuesday the European League would continue. That’s why we think SCM will build a bigger lead early on and then manage it at the back. Therefore, we have decided to play the odds on a handicap win (-5.5) for the SCM between Magdeburg and Erlangen
