Top match to kick off the Handball Bundesliga season

Just three and a half weeks after the final at the Olympic Games, the German Handball League is back underway. The players who took part in Lille and Paris will probably still be carrying a few physical and mental problems with them at the start of the new season. Our Rhein-Neckar Löwen vs THW Kiel betting tip may already show what effects this will have on the first matchday

A new season has a way of prompting numerous experts to have their say. Various predictions are made regarding the championship, qualification for the European Cup and relegation. In terms of potential, the Rhein-Neckar Löwen are likely to be in the region of the international places. The first indication of this will come on Thursday, when the record champions visit the SAP Arena.

Alongside the defending champions from Magdeburg and SG Flensburg-Handewitt, Kiel are probably one of the three championship contenders. In the end, a lot will depend on who manages their strength better with the European Cup and who remains largely spared from injuries. But let’s first look at this match on matchday one and ignore the consequences for the rest of the season for the time being.

The odds at our tested betting provider Bet-at-Home suggest that the first prediction between Rhein-Neckar Löwen and THW Kiel is an away win. As always, the first matchday is no longer about what happened in preparation. The clocks are set to zero and it will be interesting to see who will secure the first points in the new season of the Daikin Handball Bundesliga

Rhein-Neckar-Löwen – statistics & current form

Sebastian Hinze’s team has a lot to offer in the line-up. With this potential around national team players David Späth, Jannik Kohlbacher and Juri Knorr, twelfth place last season is a pure disappointment. With Ivan Martinovic from Melsungen and DHB player Sebastian Heymann from Frisch Auf Göppingen, the squad has now been further strengthened

Mediocrity not an option in Mannheim

Now it’s up to the team and coach to deliver, otherwise things could get tight for coach Sebastian Hinze this year. The bosses around the new sporting director Uwe Gensheimer will hardly stand idly by and watch another season in lower mediocrity. Against this backdrop, the season opener against THW Kiel is the perfect opportunity to find out where they stand

The coach has announced full-bodied that his team wants to be a very unpleasant opponent this season, even for the favorites. However, there was not much evidence of this in preparation. They only managed a draw against newly promoted Bietigheim. In a charity game against the Eulen Ludwigshafen, however, they still managed a clear 31:21 victory. However, anyone who thought the Lions were on the right track was disappointed.

The dress rehearsal for the Bundesliga opener last week was a complete flop. In the derby test game against Göppingen, RNL conceded a 23:26 defeat after leading 4:0. If Sebastian Hinze’s team performs in the same way on Thursday, we can’t help but play the odds on a win for the Zebras in the clash between Rhein-Neckar Löwen and THW Kiel.

Predicted line-up of Rhein-Neckar Löwen:

  • Goal: Appelgren, Späth
  • Backcourt: Oskarsson, Martinovic, Lindenchrone Andersen, Knorr, Schefvert, Gruppe, Davidsson, Heymann, Jaganjac
  • Right wing: Groetzki, Michalski
  • Left wing: Nothdurft, More
  • Circle: Jacobsen, Willner, Kohlbacher
  • Coach: Hinze

THW Kiel – Statistics & current form

If the German record champions have all of their contracted players on board, then Kiel’s squad is certainly one of the best the Bundesliga has to offer. Perhaps the Zebras can also be credited with the two biggest transfers in the German top flight. National keeper Andreas Wolff has returned to the Bundesliga from Kielce and will celebrate his comeback in Mannheim on Thursday

Will Madsen be a mega new signing?

In addition, Emil Madsen, the top scorer in last year’s Danish league and also in the Champions League, is joining the club. The half-back, who has moved from GOG Handbold to Kiel, is expected to fill the gap left by Steffen Weinhold after the end of his career. The focus will be on the two new signings in particular on Thursday

However, Filip Jicha will also have to do without some very important players. The absence of keeper Tomas Mrkva will probably be the easiest to compensate for. In addition to the Czech, Hendrik Pekeler, Mykola Bilyk, Rune Dahmke, Elias Ellefsen a Skipagötu and Harald Reinkind are also missing. Filip Jicha will have problems filling out his squad with top professionals alone.

Nevertheless, the preparation went very well with victories against HBC Nantes and HSV Hamburg. However, the Zebras were also beaten once against Telekom Veszprem. In view of the tight personnel situation, we do not expect a clear away win and can even imagine predicting a win for the home side with a positive handicap between Rhein-Neckar Löwen and THW Kiel.

Predicted line-up of THW Kiel:

  • Goal: Bellahcene, Wolff
  • Backcourt: Pabst, Madsen, Duvnjak, Johansson, Wallinius
  • Right wing: Zerbe, Imre
  • Left wing: Landin
  • Circle: Överby, Wiencek
  • Coach: Jicha

Rhein-Neckar-Löwen – THW Kiel head-to-head comparison / H2H record

Since 2003, Rhein-Neckar Löwen and THW Kiel have faced each other in a total of 56 matches. In this period alone, there have been encounters in the Bundesliga and the cup, as well as in the German Supercup and the Champions League. The direct comparison is a fairly clear-cut affair for the team from Schleswig-Holstein, who have a 38:15 lead after wins. Three games ended in a draw.

Mannheim had to wait a long time for a win against THW. Since the end of 2019, Kiel have always either held the upper hand or at least drawn in ten games. However, the Lions ended this black streak in Kiel in May, when Sebastian Hinze’s team prevailed 30:26 away from home in the Bundesliga.

Rhein-Neckar-Löwen – THW Kiel betting tip

On the one hand, the Kielers are mentioned as a challenger to champions SC Magdeburg in the title fight. On the other hand, at the start of the season they have to see how they manage their resources and how Filip Jicha can put a strong team on the court. Six well-known national team players are missing at the start of the season in Mannheim. Even the record champions will find it difficult to compensate for these absences.

Although the Rhein-Neckar Löwen did not prepare well and lost their dress rehearsal, they will have all their players on board on Thursday. Because the Mannheim team therefore has a very strong squad, we even tend to rate the role of the favorites in this match completely differently and place a bet on a home win between the Rhein-Neckar Löwen and THW Kiel in the Bet365 app

In addition, we do not expect an exceptionally high number of goals. After all, the two German national keepers David Späth and Andreas Wolff are facing each other. We therefore think that fewer than 60.5 goals may be scored. In the end, however, we keep our betting simple and clear and have decided to play the odds on an easy home win between the Rhein-Neckar Löwen and THW Kiel

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