Bundesliga Power Rankings April: Brand new number one

Here is the Power Rankings Bundesliga with Ola Selby of GoHandball, where the performances, not the points, are at the base of the rankings.

Power Rankings is our ranking of the teams during the month that has passed. In other words, it’s a table reflecting how the teams have performed only during February.

Here are the Bundesliga Power Rankings for April!

1: SC Magdeburg

Current Bundesliga standing: 4

Power rankings in March: 4

Five games meant five wins for Magdeburg in April. Despite a tough schedule — maybe not in terms of the opponents, but definitely in terms of the number of games — Magdeburg impressed greatly. Let’s do a classic rundown of the results:

Leipzig–Magdeburg 30–31: Matthias Musche scored twelve goals, and Albin Lagergren netted seven from seven attempts.
Magdeburg–Erlangen 30–19: Sergey Hernandez stood out with 15 saves.
Magdeburg–Stuttgart 31–20: Hernandez made twelve saves, with a 38% save rate. A strong team performance overall.
Magdeburg–Rhein-Neckar Löwen 30–27: Magnus Saugstrup did most of the heavy lifting in this match. And Hernandez was brilliant once again with 13 saves.
Wetzlar–Magdeburg 29–32: Lagergren was rested — and Omar Ingi Magnusson stepped up with ten goals and five assists.

An impressive month from an impressive team.

2: Füchse Berlin

Current Bundesliga standing: 1

Power rankings in March: 1

Shockingly, the month started with only a single point away against Erlangen. The match ended 31–31, despite Manuel Strlek, Nils Lichtlein, Lasse Andersson, and Mathias Gidsel each scoring seven goals. Still, it’s obviously disappointing to only get one point against such a weak team as Erlangen.

Crisis in the capital? Not at all. Stress and pressure ahead of the away game against Kiel? Neither. The “Foxes” traveled to Kiel and convincingly won 36–34. Gidsel was, as usual, decisive (six goals and eight assists), but the hottest player was Mijajlo Marsenic, with ten goals and three blocked shots.

Berlin then finished the month by claiming another strong victory against a top team: 37–33 against Hannover-Burgdorf. Gidsel? Apparently, the 14 points he delivered against Kiel weren’t enough. Against Hannover, he put up 19 points (nine goals and ten assists). MVP!

3: MT Melsungen

Current Bundesliga standing: 2

Power rankings in March: 6

April turned out to be a tough month for Melsungen in many ways, as star goalkeeper Nebojsa Simic injured his knee and will be out for the rest of the season. Was that when Melsungen lost the league title? No, probably earlier — but their chances of catching up with Berlin at the top definitely decreased.

In terms of results, however, it was a strong month for Melsungen, who won all three of their matches. First against Bietigheim, when Simic was still fit — the Montenegrin made 15 saves in that game.

Then they edged out Gummersbach with a last-minute goal from Elvar Örn Jonsson (he will be missed in Melsungen next season, but congratulations to Magdeburg), before finishing the month with a victory largely thanks to a strong performance from Adam Morawski (14 saves — he can really step up too!) in goal.

4: THW Kiel

Current Bundesliga standing: 6

Power rankings in March: 8

If there’s one thing you could count on with THW Kiel this season, it’s that you couldn’t count on anything. There’s a lovely sentence for you.

In April, they won two matches and lost one. Victories came against Gummersbach (with Emil Madsen scoring nine goals and Andreas Wolff making 16 saves) and against Göppingen (where Eric Johansson recorded seven goals and seven assists).

The loss to Berlin — especially at home — probably didn’t do wonders for the club’s self-image, but it’s clear that Kiel is currently a step behind the team from the capital.

5: SG Flensburg-Handewitt

Current Bundesliga standing: 5

Power rankings in March: 7

Flensburg had a shaky defensive start to the month, conceding 39 goals against the surprise team Eisenach and having to settle for a draw. What made the dropped point even more bitter for Flensburg was the fact that Lasse Møller had given them a 39–37 lead with just over a minute and a half remaining. But Flensburg failed to score again, and Eisenach caught up.

And after that? Well, two straight wins followed — against Leipzig (33–31, with 13 goals from the aforementioned Møller) and Stuttgart (14 goals by Emil Jakobsen). Overall, a pretty good month for Flensburg, aside from the defensive collapse against Eisenach.

6: Rhein-Neckar Löwen

Current Bundesliga standing: 7

Power rankings in March: 10

I’ve been quite critical of, or at least questioned, Juri Knorr this season. But lately, I feel like I’m seeing a player who has rediscovered what once made him a world-class talent. He scored a ton of goals in April, but also increased his number of assists and showed more actions where he played for others, not just for his own chances.

In terms of results, April has been a month much like many others this season for Löwen. What do I mean by that? Four out of six points. They beat a strong Lemgo side 33–26, with Knorr leading the way — alongside Mikael Appelgren in goal (17 saves) — to secure the win. Against Leipzig, a 35–34 victory, it was Knorr and Jon Lindenchrone Andersen (nine goals, five assists, and the decisive goal at the end) who were the heroes.

Löwen couldn’t quite hold on against Magdeburg, even though they played a good match. All in all, a pretty solid month for Löwen.

7: TBV Lemgo

Current Bundesliga standing: 8

Power rankings in March: 3

March was an incredibly strong month for Lemgo, and they were deservedly ranked third in the Power Rankings after that month. In April, however, it’s been a step or two back for Lemgo, who picked up four out of a possible eight points.

Why do I say they took a step back? Not just because of the points tally, but also considering the teams they faced. To only secure four points against Löwen, Potsdam, Hamburg, and Hannover feels a bit underwhelming compared to what Lemgo delivered just a month earlier.

Any positives on the player front for Lemgo? Niels Versteijnen has been pouring in goals from the right back position.

8: VfL Gummersbach

Current Bundesliga standing: 9

Power rankings in March: 5

Only one win in three matches for Gummersbach in April, and that could have led to a really low ranking for the month. Why do I still rank Gummersbach relatively high? Because they’ve faced an extremely tough schedule — and I’m referring to the two matches they lost. The win against Potsdam was as certain as glue on a handball, but the away games against Kiel and Melsungen were far tougher challenges.

Miro Schluroff has continued to score goals (eleven against Kiel, six against Melsungen, and six against Potsdam), but it wasn’t enough against the top teams, as Kiel and Melsungen won by six and one goal respectively.

9: TSV Hannover-Burgdorf

Current Bundesliga standing: 3

Power rankings in March: 2

In March, Hannover were good. Really good, in fact. I even ranked them as the second-best team in April, with only Berlin ahead of them in the rankings at the time. April, however, hasn’t been nearly as kind to Hannover, who lost two matches (at home against Göppingen and away against Berlin) and only won one (at home against Lemgo).

Losing to Berlin is one thing, but losing at home to Göppingen is simply not acceptable for a team chasing a Champions League spot next season. It was particularly a defensive collapse in that match, conceding 36 goals. Offensively, things looked a bit better, highlighted by a standout performance from Marius Steinhauser, who scored an incredible 16 (!) goals.

Their lone win came, in classic Hannover fashion, after a tight match against Lemgo, which Hannover naturally won (as they often do) by a single goal. Renārs Uščins, who has been Hannover’s best player in April, scored ten goals in that game.

10: ThSV Eisenach

Current Bundesliga standing: 11

Power rankings in March: 12

I’ve already mentioned the match against Flensburg from Flensburg’s perspective, but let’s take a look at it from Eisenach’s point of view. A two-goal deficit with a minute and a half left away against Flensburg — not exactly an ideal situation. But Peter Walz equalized in the final seconds, and the fairytale story of Eisenach’s 2024–25 season just keeps going. It also helped that Marko Grgic (set to join Flensburg in 2026) contributed with 13 goals.

Were there more draws for Eisenach in April? Absolutely. It was impressive to take a point off Flensburg, but less so against Erlangen. Still, that’s how it ended, and once again it took a late equalizer.

At least Eisenach finished the month with a win, beating Bietigheim 34–26. Grgic had a solid outing with six goals and six assists, but Simone Mengon stood out even more with nine goals and five assists.

11: Hamburg Handball

Current Bundesliga standing: 10

Power rankings in March: 9

A win against Potsdam is, to be honest, not particularly impressive. But Hamburg still did the job and won 28–23, thanks in part to 18 saves from Robin Paulsen Haug. Things got tougher in the next match against Lemgo, where the defense collapsed. It’s hard to win games when you concede 41 goals…

Hamburg still finished the month on a high note by defeating Göppingen 31–30. They were trailing toward the end but pulled off a strong comeback, led by Moritz Sauter (nine goals in total), who scored 29–29, 30–29, and the decisive 31–30 at the final buzzer.

12: Frisch auf Göppingen

Current Bundesliga standing: 14

Power rankings in March: 13

Göppingen got off to a fantastic start to the month, beating Hannover 36–30 on the road, with eight different players scoring three goals or more — a true team effort.

Losing away to Kiel is nothing to be ashamed of. But the defeat against Hamburg was a bitter pill to swallow. Göppingen held a 29–27 lead with less than five minutes to play but could only find the net once more, allowing Hamburg to turn the game around. A real missed opportunity.

13: SC DHFK Leipzig

Current Bundesliga standing: 14

Power rankings in March: 16

March was a weak month for Leipzig. Was April any better? Not really. Three matches resulted in three losses in April, and Leipzig looks like a team lacking identity and direction.

I’m aware that they lost to Magdeburg by one goal, to Flensburg by two, and to Löwen by one, but there’s still something missing in this team for them to start collecting more points.

14: TVB Stuttgart

Current Bundesliga standing: 15

Power rankings in March: –

Up like the sun, down like a pancake — that was Stuttgart’s April. They started the month by securing an impressive and, importantly, crucial away win against fellow relegation rivals Wetzlar. Milan Vujovic made 13 saves, Daniel Fernandez scored seven goals, and Torben Matzken netted the team’s final two goals to seal the victory.

After that, tougher opponents awaited in the form of Magdeburg and Flensburg. And there, Stuttgart naturally stood no chance. Still, winning one really difficult away game in April has to be considered a good month for Stuttgart under the circumstances.

15: HC Erlangen

Current Bundesliga standing: 17

Power rankings in March: 15

After a season of almost complete darkness, there have recently been some signs of light for Erlangen. In fact, they picked up two out of eight possible points in April. Not exactly great — but still better than what they’ve managed in most months this season.

Incredibly, the points came first against Berlin and then against Eisenach. Against Berlin, Marek Nissen equalized in the final second, and against Eisenach it was a showcase performance by new signing Viggo Kristjansson, who recorded 14 goals and six assists in that match.

Losses followed against Magdeburg and Melsungen, but Erlangen still had a red-hot Icelander who was almost unstoppable in April. He was brought in midseason to try to save Erlangen — the question now is, will he succeed?

16: HSG Wetzlar

Current Bundesliga standing: X

Power rankings in March: 11

Oh, how tough April was for Wetzlar. Losing to Magdeburg is one thing, but losing to both Stuttgart (and at home, no less) and bottom-placed Potsdam is something else entirely.

Where did it go wrong for Wetzlar in April? The real question is what actually worked — because there wasn’t much.

17: VfL Potsdam

Current Bundesliga standing: 18

Power rankings in March: 17

Just like Erlangen, things have looked a bit better for Potsdam in April compared to earlier in the season. Most notably, their offense has looked sharper — in fact, Potsdam scored 23, 23, 32, and 27 goals in their games during the month of April.

Not super impressive, as it only resulted in two points (of course when they came alive and scored 32 goals against Wetzlar), but still a step in the right direction for a team that has known for a couple of months now that they will be playing in the 2. Bundesliga next season.

 

Bietigheim only played two matches in March.