Will the team from the capital get their revenge?
From a statistical standpoint, an all-German semifinal was almost to be expected: Teams from the Bundesliga and the top division in the GDR have won 22 of the 40 titles—the best tally among nations, ahead of Spain (18)—in the Champions League and its predecessor, the European Cup.
The current titleholder also comes from the Bundesliga, with the handballers from the Börde region. Magdeburg claimed the crown in European handball last year with a 32-26 victory over their upcoming opponent! So the Füchse still have a score to settle.
Actually, it’s now two, since Magdeburg has also dethroned the handballers from the Spree as champions this season. We also view SC as the slightly stronger team, but still expect a close match on the Rhine. Against this backdrop, for the semifinal between Füchse Berlin and Magdeburg, we’re predicting that the capital city team won’t lose by a margin of two or more goals.
Furthermore, we expect at least 64 goals in the match. Due to their respective strong offensive lines, there has been no shortage of goals in recent matchups between these two top teams. This is evident from the fact that the selected goal threshold was exceeded in both of their seasonal Bundesliga encounters (68 & 71 goals).
Magdeburg – Füchse Berlin Head-to-Head Record
The two top clubs from the Handball Bundesliga faced off for the last time—for now—in March of this year in national league play. In that match, SC secured a narrow 35-33 home victory. Thanks to this win, the handballers from the Elbe now boast three consecutive victories in this matchup.
For the upcoming showdown between Magdeburg and Füchse Berlin, the odds also slightly favor a win for Coach Bennet Wiegert’s team.
Magdeburg – Füchse Berlin Prediction
In Magdeburg, there’s no room to complain about a lack of success this season. The Bundesliga title was secured in commanding fashion, and now the double is set to follow with another Champions League victory.
However, the Füchse are facing a team that, while unable to defend its championship title in the top German league, at least finished as runner-up. On top of that, Coach Nicolej Krickau’s squad won the DHB Cup, and in terms of personnel, we consider the capital city team to be almost on equal footing.
Among others, they have three-time World Handball Player of the Year Mathias Gidsel in their ranks, who also won the Bundesliga scoring title last season. A walk in the park for SC Berlin does not appear to be on the cards, which is why, for the match between Magdeburg and Füchse Berlin, we are not betting on the Spree handballers losing by a margin of two or more goals.
This prediction is supported by their recent Bundesliga matchup, which was also a close contest, as Magdeburg won by just two goals.
