6:55 p.m
The referees for the game are Darnel Jansen and Lucas Hellbusch, and Stefan Schneider is in charge of the game. Almost everything has been said, the hall is boiling, the teams are arriving – kick-off is about to happen.
6:50 p.m
A look at history reveals that there could hardly be a more exciting duel: both teams played against each other 34 times, the home team recorded 15 wins, the guests were successful 16 times, and three games ended in a draw. But the last six comparisons all went to the Berliners, especially away from home they often showed strong nerves and took the points with them to the capital. The Mannheimers probably have completely bad memories of their last appearance with the Füchse. In April, the away game ended in a debacle, with the Lions having to return home with a score of 38:24. Given their respective form and squad depth, there is a lot to be said for the Berliners today; the Rhein-Neckar-Löwen would have to achieve a brilliant performance in order to overthrow the league leaders in their own hall.
6:40 p.m
The ambitions are so high, the desire for the first championship is so great. With perhaps the best squad in the club’s history, the capital city team wants to attack at the top – so far this venture has been crowned with success. The foxes are still walking through the league without losing any points, beating underdogs and favorites alike. With a win against newly promoted Eisenach, the capital city team fought back their place in the sun from MT Melsungen. In the last three appearances, the reigning European League winner has always managed a win with a difference of at least eight goals, but before that they also survived two real benchmarks at home with the duels against Hannover (34:33) and SC Magdeburg (31: 26). The Max-Schmeling-Halle has so far resembled an impregnable fortress, and so far Jaron Siewert’s team seems to be the benchmark of the league. You probably can’t go into a Bundesliga game with more tailwind than the Füchse currently have, and the top game against the Rhein-Neckar-Löwen, which is titled on paper, shouldn’t change that.
6:30 p.m
The Rhein-Neckar-Löwen are currently in fifth place in the table, and until recently the Mannheimers were probably happy with three minus points from six games. But on Monday the Lions unexpectedly stumbled against the newcomers from Eisenach and, with an erratic performance, earned themselves two more minus points in the Thuringian cauldron. The start of last year’s fifth season was similar, a bit bumpy, a draw and a defeat away to Göppingen and Hannover, but then coach Sebastian Hinze’s team found its rhythm much better. At home in particular, the Lions appeared to have clearly stabilized and were able to win four games in a row before the defeat. Even though the squad constellation has recently left a lot to be desired due to many injuries, the Lions are going into the top game against the league leaders today as clear underdogs. So far this season they have only been able to win away from the bottom of the table, the BHC, which should be a mammoth task today without any supposed tailwind.
6:20 p.m
Hello and welcome to the 9th matchday of the Handball Bundesliga! As league leaders, the Füchse Berlin welcome the Rhein-Neckar-Löwen, kick-off is in the Max-Schmeling-Halle at 7 p.m.!