Top dance on matchday four
On Thursday, the first matchday is still on the agenda in the Handball Champions League. Two German teams would have liked to be part of it and have long flirted with qualification, but at the end of the season it was only enough for the SG Flensburg-Handewitt and the Füchse Berlin to qualify for the European League. Nevertheless, there should be a little bit of that “King’s League” feeling, because Flensburg welcomes the capital city team for the top match in the Bundesliga.
If you ask the experts, four teams have what it takes to become German handball champions this season. Besides Flensburg and Berlin, they are record champions THW Kiel and the reigning champions from Magdeburg. It is not without reason that these four teams occupy the first four places in the table and each have 6:0 points on their account, although this also applies to HC Erlangen.
So on Thursday, at least one of the Big Four will have the first minus points on their account. If we go by the odds, then in the top match of the Handball Bundesliga between Flensburg and the Füchsen Berlin, the forecast goes more towards a home win.
But we think this match is completely open and can imagine any outcome. We might even see a slight tendency in the direction of the capitals. In general, however, we would rather not place a bet on the outcome of the match between Flensburg and the Füchsen Berlin. A bet on more than 57.5 goals could be more attractive and less risky.
SG Flensburg-Handewitt – Statistics & current form
It was the very big question how the SG Flensburg will cope with the departures of the three outside players Lasse Svan, Marius Steinhauser and especially Hampus Wanne. If we look at the first games of the season, Maik Machulla has done the best job of integrating Johan Hansen and August Pedersen on the outside positions, at least as far as we can tell so far.
Exits well compensated
After all, Flensburg have won their first three games of the season in the Bundesliga. Against HSV Hamburg, the SG still had big problems at the start of the season, but got the points in a 50:50 game and that could have been such a key game. A small derby, a close match, but still a win – that can release energy for several weeks.
In Maik Machulla’s team, that was obviously the case, because in the next two games they first beat GWD Minden by 13 points and last weekend Hannover-Burgdorf away by ten points. It almost looks like the northern lights have now picked up momentum. That at least suggests that there will also be a lot of goals in Thursday’s top match.
After all, Maik Machulla’s team has scored an average of almost 34 goals in the three games. That leads us to conclude that the odds on more than 57.5 goals between Flensburg and Füchse Berlin should be very interesting. In terms of personnel, there should not be any major problems. As it looks, the SG will only have to do without the injured Aaron Mensing.
Predicted line-up of SG Flensburg-Handewitt:
Buric, K. Möller – Einarsson, Golla, Gottfridsson, Hald Jensen, Jansen, Jakobsen, Johannessen, Kirschberger, Mensah Larsen, Lindskog, L. Möller, Röd, Semper – Coach Machulla
Last games of SG Flensburg-Handewitt:
Bundesliga
10/09/2022 – TSV Hannover-Burgdorf 25 – 35 SG Flensburg-Handewitt
07/09/2022 – SG Flensburg-Handewitt 36 – 23 GWD Minden
01/09/2022 – HSV Hamburg 30 – 31 SG Flensburg-Handewitt
12/06/2022 – Füchse Berlin 22 – 28 SG Flensburg-Handewitt
08/06/2022 – SG Flensburg-Handewitt 21 – 24 Bergischer HC
Füchse Berlin – statistics & current form
It’s already one of the stories of the season. Foxes coach Jaron Siewert suffered a stroke in August and was out of action for several weeks. Bob Hanning took over the post on the Berlin bench on an interim basis before the appointed coach returned to the bench last weekend to great cheers from the fans in the capital.
Goal-hungry Foxes
Even without Jaron Siewert, the Füchse have had a perfect start to the season, perhaps facing the slightly stronger opponents compared to Flensburg. Göppingen, Wetzlar and Stuttgart are all teams that at least want to play for a place in the European League. Therefore, the Füchse can be very satisfied with 6:0 points and a goal difference of +29.
In the offensive, the Berliners, just like Flensburg, have scored 102 goals. If we extrapolate that for Thursday, both teams should score around 33 to 34 goals. Especially due to the changed rule of the fast middle, many goals should be expected and therefore we don’t go too far out on a limb if we dare to predict more than 57.5 goals between Flensburg and the Füchsen Berlin.
Now that the coach is back on board, there are no personnel worries at all for the Berliners. Jaron Siewert will be able to field his best squad in the top match on Thursday, and with the signings of Max Darj, Mathias Gidsel and Viktor Kireev, the squad should be even stronger than last year. Without question, the Foxes are in attack mode this season.
Predicted line-up of Füchse Berlin:
Kireev, Milosavljevic – Andersson, Chrintz, Darj, Drux, Freihofer, Gidsel, Holm, Kopljar, Langhoff, Lindberg, Marsenic, Vujovic, Wiede – Coach: Siewert
Last matches played by Füchse Berlin:
Bundesliga
11/09/2022 – Füchse Berlin 31 – 21 TVB 1898 Stuttgart
07/09/2022 – HSG Wetzlar 25 – 37 Füchse Berlin
04/09/2022 – Füchse Berlin 34 – 27 FA Göppingen
12/06/2022 – Füchse Berlin 22 – 28 SG Flensburg-Handewitt
08/06/2022 – Balingen-Weilstetten 23 – 23 Füchse Berlin
SG Flensburg-Handewitt – Füchse Berlin Direct comparison / H2H-balance
The Füchse have taken some time to fight their way to the top of the Handball Bundesliga and establish themselves there. For years, it was only enough for mediocrity or something above it. This is also reflected in the direct comparison with the SG Flensburg-Handewitt. In total, the two teams have faced each other in 34 games.
The direct comparison, with 25:6 wins and three draws, is a clear affair for the Flensburg team, which, however, has been one of the absolute top clubs in Germany, but also internationally, for many years. The games got closer, but the winner was almost always the same. Flensburg have won nine of the last ten duels against the Füchse Berlin.
SG Flensburg-Handewitt – Füchse Berlin Tip
The spectators in the Flens-Arena can look forward to top-class handball. Two of the four best teams in the top flight meet in a direct duel and it is not as if they are perhaps still looking for form. Flensburg and Berlin have climbed straight to the top of the table with a rocket start. Both teams have 6:0 points on their account and have already scored 102 goals each.
The bookmakers favour the Flensburg team. This is partly due to the home advantage, but also because the SG have won nine of their last ten games against the Füchse.
However, it should also be clear that anything is always possible with two teams that perform at such a high level. So we wouldn’t rule out Maik Machulla’s team taking the home win either. Significantly less risk promises bets on the number of goals and therefore we have decided to play the betting odds on more than 57.5 goals between Flensburg and Füchsen Berlin.
