Promising match in Szeged

In many sports, athletes have to push themselves to the limit week after week. Even on the Christmas days, there are still games to be played. In January, the European Championship starts for the handball players. There is no time to take a breather, not even, or especially not for THW Kiel, who will play their tenth Champions League match at Pick Szeged in Hungary on Thursday.

It could be a key match for the Zebras, as the first two teams in the group of eight qualify directly for the quarter-finals. The teams in third to sixth place will have to go back to the drawing board in the round of 16. Kiel could therefore earn two free match days as the runners-up.

THW are currently in second place with 13 points from nine games. Montpellier are only two points away, but Aalborg and Pick Szeged are both one point behind the German champions. Therefore, the forecast for a close match between Szeged and Kiel on Thursday is already clear.

The Hungarians are an absolute power, especially in their own hall. It will be difficult for the Kiel team, who have been dropping points away from home, to take two points on Thursday.

Szeged – Statistics & current form

In the national league of Hungary, the table currently presents itself basically as you would expect it to every year. Pick Szeged is currently first in the standings, but has Telekom Veszprem, the second Hungarian top club, breathing down its neck. You don’t have to be a great prophet to predict a hot title race between these two clubs

A power in their own hall

Both have only conceded one point this season, and that was in the draw in the direct duel in Veszprem. However, Juan Carlos Pastor’s team is extremely strong in their own hall. Pick have won 22 of their last 23 games in Szeged, with only a narrow defeat in the Champions League against the Norwegians from Elverum.

Last weekend, however, they celebrated a clear home victory in the Városi Sportcsarnok. The relegation candidates from Eger were the guests and did not stand a chance. Pick was already 23:14 ahead at the break. In the end, the Hungarian champions secured a clear 44:29 victory. In this condition, the forecast for the duel between Pick Szeged and THW Kiel should also be a home victory for the Hungarians.

Coach Juan Carlos Pastor has a European selection at his disposal that consists almost exclusively of national players. Most of the players come from Hungary and Slovenia, two demonstrably strong national teams. Special attention is paid to the Hungarian circle runner Bence Banhidi, who can certainly be described as world class.

Predicted line-up of Szeged:
Mikler, Alilovic – Sostaric, Banhidi, Bodo, Frimmel, Tönnesen, Martins Soares, Garcianda Alustiza, Mackovsek, Radivojevic, Bombac, Henigman, Gaber, Rosta, Blonz – Coach: Pastor

Kiel – Statistics & current form

In the Bundesliga, the Zebras have only been the pursuer of the leaders from Magdeburg for weeks. Currently, the Kiel team is in second place and should be right on target. However, THW already have six more points on their account than the league leaders from Saxony-Anhalt and must therefore hope that Magdeburg slip up.

Kiel starts a run

In the Champions League, Filip Jicha’s team was initially only a runner-up, but on the last matchday they managed to jump to second place, which would mean direct entry into the quarter-finals. THW currently have three wins in a row under their belt, which is by no means unusual for the Zebras.

When there are problems, however, it is away from home. Kiel have lost two of their last four away games, including in the Bundesliga at Nettelstedt-Lübbecke. The match in Hungary at Pick Szeged is a much bigger challenge and that’s why we stick to our forecast of a home win between Szeged and Kiel.

Last weekend, however, Kiel showed a very mature performance in their guest game at HSV Hamburg and basically bagged the victory with a very strong defensive performance already in the first half, when they were 15:6 ahead. In the second period, the Zebras took it easy and won 32:23 in the end. A thoroughly successful dress rehearsal for the Champions League.

Predicted line-up of Kiel:
N. Landin, Quenstedt – Sagosen, Ehrig, Duvnjak, Wiencek, Pekeler, M. Landin, Dahmke, Zarabec, Weinhold, Ekberg, Reinkind, Benitez, Horak, Bilyk – Coach: Jicha

Szeged – Kiel Direct comparison / H2H-balance

In the last ten years, the teams of Pick Szeged and THW Kiel have crossed paths a total of eleven times, always in the Champions League. The direct comparison speaks in favour of the Zebras in this period with 7:3 victories, once there was a draw. However, the German champions do not have such good memories of the trips to Hungary.

The Kielers have lost three of the last four games in Szeged. At least the Zebras won the last match in Szeged when they eliminated the Hungarians in the last 16 last year. The first leg in the current Champions League ended in Kiel with a 32:32 draw. Hendrik Pekeler was the most successful scorer in that match with eight goals.

Szeged – Kiel Tip

The strain on the handball players is enormous and therefore it would be very important to get one of the first two places in the group phase of the Champions League in order to qualify directly for the quarter-finals and save themselves two games in the last 16. Therefore, the Kiel team should definitely score in Szeged on Thursday, otherwise they will not be able to keep their current second place for a while.

But winning in Hungary is a very difficult task. Pick Szeged have won 22 of their last 23 competitive games at home and have also won three of their last four games against the Zebras on the spot.

However, Kiel have won three games in a row recently and also the last duel in Szeged went to the Zebras in the last 16 of pre-season. However, two defeats from the last four away games speak against a victory away from home. Therefore, we play the betting odds on a home win in the duel between Pick Szeged and THW Kiel.