Matchday 4: The clash of the unbeaten and the game of the topscorers

Friday, 11 September:

• The narrow 27:26 victory at Bergischer HC was a relief for Rhein-Neckar Löwen following their two opening defeats against Hannover-Burgdorf and Gummersbach. New captain David Späth made 12 saves, whilst Dani Baijens was the Löwen’s top scorer with seven goals.
• After two wins to start the season, HBW Balingen-Weilstetten put up an outstanding fight against champions SC Magdeburg, only to suffer an unfortunate 30:31 defeat after leading by four goals at one stage. The newly promoted side sit in fifth place with 4:2 points.
• Yonatan Dayan, who scored seven times against SCM, is Balingen’s top scorer with 16 goals, whilst Löwen playmaker Haukur Thrastarson has 13 strikes to his name.
• The 32:30 win in June 2021 was HBW’s last victory against the Löwen. However, the Swabians have never won in Mannheim, losing 14 of their 15 matches there. The overall head-to-head record stands at 26 wins to 2 in favour of the Löwen.

Saturday, 12 September:

• In the top-of-the-table clash between the unbeaten teams, the league leaders face the fourth-placed side.
• Despite Lukas Zerbe’s red card, THW Kiel rounded off their southern tour on a high note: following a convincing victory in Bietigheim, they secured a narrow 32:31 win in Göppingen, meaning Kiel remain unbeaten with 6:0 points.
• Following their victory over Rhein-Neckar Löwen and a draw in Erlangen, the Recken secured a 30:28 win in the small northern derby against HC Hamburg.
• The top scorers for both teams have netted 18 goals each after three matchdays: Domen Makuc (Kiel) and August Pedersen (Hannover-Burgdorf)
• Two of the last three encounters between the Recken and the Zebras have ended in draws; at home, THW have lost just one of 17 matches against Hannover-Burgdorf, and the overall record stands at 28:3 in Kiel’s favour.

Sunday, 13 September:

• Thanks to a last-minute goal from Albin Lagergren, champions SC Magdeburg secured a 31:30 victory away at newly promoted HBW Balingen-Weilstetten – their third win following victories in Gummersbach and against the Füchse.
• HSG Wetzlar fought hard to secure their first point in the closing stages of Monday evening’s 31:31 draw at home against ThSV Eisenach, following defeats against Bietigheim and Lemgo.
• At SCM, Matthias Musche tops the club’s scoring charts with 19 goals, one more than Felix Claar (18). Nikolaj Læsø (16 goals) is currently Wetzlar’s top scorer.
• Last season, despite a 30:31 home defeat to SC Magdeburg on the final matchday, the HSG secured their place in the league – it was Magdeburg’s tenth consecutive victory over Wetzlar. The HSG’s last win against the reigning champions came in 2019; overall, the head-to-head record stands at 37:13 in Magdeburg’s favour.

• Under its new name, HC Hamburg is still waiting for their first Opel HBL win. Following a defeat in Balingen and a draw in Stuttgart, Torsten Jansen’s side suffered an unfortunate 28:30 loss away to the Recken in their most recent match.
• With 2:4 points, FRISCH AUF! Göppingen sit one point ahead of Hamburg, having also suffered a narrow 31:32 defeat against THW Kiel on matchday three.
• With 25 goals, eight of which came against the Recken, Hamburg’s Danish player Nicolaj Jørgensen is currently the Opel HBL’s second-highest scorer. Marcel Schiller and Elias Newel have each scored twelve times for Göppingen.
• Last season, Göppingen won both matches against Hamburg; however, in 18 encounters at HCH, they have managed only four away wins, and the Hanseatic side also lead the all-time head-to-head record by a clear margin of 22 wins to 10.

• One point versus no points – that is the season record so far for the two opponents ahead of the fourth matchday.
• HC Erlangen’s only result on the books is the 28:28 draw against Hannover-Burgdorf; most recently, the Franconians lost 33:38 in Flensburg.
• Bergischer HC suffered two extremely unfortunate defeats, both by a one-goal margin, against Stuttgart (29:30) and, most recently, against Rhein-Neckar Löwen (26:27); the defeat against Flensburg was more decisive (29:34).
• Top scorers from both teams feature in the top 10 of the Opel HBL charts: Fynn Hangstein (BHC) has scored 23 times, whilst Yannik Bialowas netted 19 times for HCE.
• After three years at the BHC, Eloy Morante Maldonado moved to Erlangen ahead of this season.
• The two clubs are level on eight wins and two draws; last season, both Erlangen and the BHC won their respective away matches.

• Just one point separates the two teams, who have both suffered their only defeats so far against SC Magdeburg. Following their nail-biting 34:33 win in Stuttgart, the Füchse sit on 4:2 points, whilst VfL Gummersbach are on 3:3 after their 31:31 draw against MT Melsungen.
• With 15 goals, including nine in the first 15 minutes, the 20-year-old VfL new signing Nikola Roganovic put in an outstanding performance against Melsungen.
• 13 saves from Lasse Ludwig and nine goals from Mathias Gidsel were crucial to Berlin’s success in Stuttgart.
• Both teams boast three of the current top four scorers in the Opel HBL: Miro Schluroff leads the rankings with 27 goals, Roganovic is third with 25, and Gidsel is fourth with 23.
• Last season’s 34:29 home win ended a run of eight winless years for VfL against the Füchse. In Berlin, the capital side won 28:26 and also lead the all-time head-to-head record with 22 wins to 17.

• One win, one draw and one defeat each, as well as 3:3 points apiece – MT Melsungen and TVB Stuttgart have been marching in lockstep through the season so far.
• Most recently, MT drew 31–31 in Gummersbach, whilst TVB suffered an unlucky 33–34 defeat against the Füchse.
• With 23 goals, Stuttgart’s veteran Kai Häfner is once again among the top scorers in the Opel HBL; MT’s top scorer is Aaron Mensing with 17 goals.
• MT have won their last four matches against Stuttgart and have recorded seven wins to two defeat in their last eight encounters. Stuttgart’s last away win in Kassel came in 2024; overall, the head-to-head record stands at 13 wins to 8 in MT’s favour.