Fight for relegation: Gummersbach meets weak Erlangen

Fight for relegation: Gummersbach meets weak Erlangen

On Saturday, March 21, 2025, HC Erlangen and VfL Gummersbach are facing the Nuremberg Arena as part of the 23rd match day of the Bundesliga. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. The game is the third duel between the two teams this season. Gummersbach's players who were active in the national team courses for the European Championship qualification benefit from a shorter training break after the rest of the team started preparing for this encounter five days after the home win against SG BBM Bietigheim. Head coach Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson used the time out to go to his homeland in Island and motivate his team.

The situation for the HC Erlangen is tense. With only 6:36 points, the team is under massive pressure as the penultimate table and urgently needs points in the relegation battle. In the past nine encounters, they have not been able to win. In addition, Erlangen has changed the coach twice this season: Martin Schwalb took over in October, but was on leave in February before Johannes Sellin returned. Sigurdsson warns of the strength of the Erlangen squad, who comes up with missing and new additions, such as Viggo Kristjánsson, Marko Bezjak and Milos Kos. Kristjánsson could celebrate his comeback after his knee injury.

important actors and the game strategy

Sigurdsson emphasizes the quality of Erlangens in the defense, in particular the strong 6: 0 defensive strategy, in which Antonio Metzner, Marek Nissen and Christopher Bissel act as key player. He emphasizes how important it is for Gummersbach to enforce your own tempo game to increase the pressure on Erlangen. Another important factor will be concentration; Tom Kiesler emphasized the need to be 100% focused from the start to control the game.

Miro Schluroff recently debuted in the DHB team in the Gummersbach team, which was not surprising, according to Sigurdsson. Julian Köster is also considered an emerging player in the team. There have also been some injury-related setbacks in the past few weeks: Stepan Zeman has suffered injuries after the European Championship qualification with the Czech Republic, and Teitur Einarsson only partially trains with the team, so that his effort remains uncertain. Tom Kiesler shows promising progress, but an immediate return to the starting line -up is not to be expected.

History of the duels and outlook

In the direct comparison of the two teams in the Bundesliga, Gummersbach can look back on a positive balance. In December 2022, Gummersbach won 28:24 and in the DHB Cup on October 2, 2022 there was a short 27:27 victory against Erlangen. This history should give the Gummersbach players additional confidence, while Erlangen urgently hopes for points. The upcoming encounters are crucial for both teams, especially if the next challenges in the European League are taken into account.