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 September.
Here are the Bundesliga Power Rankings for September!
1: SG Flensburg-Handewitt
Current Bundesliga standing: 1
What an impressive start to the season by this Flensburg team. Four matches = four wins and a team that scores at will.
Last season was not that great for Flensburg, but it was the first season with new coach Nicolej Krickau calling the shots. Flensburg is looking unstoppable with one more preseason under his belt and a couple of great signings.
The most impressive thing about these four wins is the fact that Simon Pytlick, arguably their best and most important player, hasn’t had to do that much. Pytlick scored 21 goals in 4 games, which is great, but not as great as he can be. Instead, Flensburg has threatened teams from all over the court. Flensburg could very well be the team to beat this season in the Bundesliga.
2: MT Melsungen
Current Bundesliga standing: 3
Sure, they lost a tough one away to Rhein-Neckar Löwen, but in that game (too), David Späth was incredible in goal for Löwen. Besides that one loss, Melsungen has won all of their three games, and they have done so in great fashion.
They have done it with a goalkeeper in Nebojsa Simic who has performed at the top level in at least two games: the first win against Lemgo (10 saves and 38 in save percentage) and especially away against Kiel (19 saves and 48 in save percentage). That away win against Kiel, where Melsungen only conceded 21 goals, was very impressive overall.
Melsungen had a great start to the season last year before they faded, and now it will be interesting to see if they can keep it up for longer this year.
3: Rhein-Neckar Löwen
Current Bundesliga standing: 2
Is Rhein-Neckar Löwen back as a top team? Yes, I believe that is fair to say, even though they have only played four games so far in the Bundesliga this season.
What is the difference so far for Löwen? Several things. First of all, newcomers Sebastian Heymann and Ivan Martinovic, and especially Martinovic, has been instrumental so far with 37 goals and 14 assists in four games. And Heymann has been great in defense as well. Secondly, David Späth has been the best goalkeeper in the Bundesliga so far, and third, the defensive play is looking a lot better than last year.
But I have to give David Späth his flowers. 13 saves against Kiel, 21 saves against Bietigheim, 15 saves against Melsungen, and 16 saves against Leipzig. What is that?!
4: TSV Hannover-Burgdorf
Current Bundesliga standing: 4
Let me start by saying that Renärs Uscins is one of my favorite players in the world right now. What the young right back did during the 2024 Olympics was impressive, and he has continued in that fashion during the start of the 2024-25 league campaign with Hannover.
He scores whenever and wherever he wants, and Uscins is one of the big reasons why this Hannover team has started the season in great fashion, already defeating a top team in Füchse Berlin (Uscins had 11 goals and five assists in that game).
Their only loss in September came in the first round against Gummersbach. After that, they are 3–0. Another player to mention in this team? Justus Fischer. A great month for the 21-year-old.
5: SC DHfK Leipzig
Current Bundesliga standing: 6
After several great seasons in a row where Leipzig competed for the European spots, they took a step back last season. That made me wonder if this team is one of those boring no-mans-land teams from now on. But perhaps they are not.
Leipzig started the season by hammering Stuttgart, 33–24, and followed that by forcing Füchse Berlin, and Mathias Gidsel in particular, to play lights out in their matchup. Then Leipzig defeated Gummersbach and Rhein-Neckar Löwen.
So, three impressive wins and one loss that could have ended in a win. That’s not bad at all. Top performers in September for Leipzig? Kristian Sæverås in goal (3 games with 35 or better in save percentage), Franz Semper (the most important player in attack for Leipzig), and Matej Klima.
6: Füchse Berlin
Current Bundesliga standing: 5
Are Berlin in problem? “Only” three wins out of four in September is not what I expected. But then again, the only loss came against Hannover, and they have looked amazing so far.
It’s been all about two players for Füchse so far. Guess who? Mathias Gidsel and Lasse Andersson. The Danish Dream Duo does it all for this team and will have to continue to do so for this team to achieve great things this season.
And if Dejan Milosavljev can find his stride again in goal, then Berlin will climb in the table.
7: SC Magdeburg
Current Bundesliga standing: 9
Only three games were played in September for Magdeburg (they are playing in the Club World Championship in Egypt as well), but a tough month for the reigning champions. It’s very obvious when watching Magdeburg so far this season how much they miss Felix Claar.
Gisli Kristjansson shines from time to time but does not have the high floor in his game as the Swede does. And Magdeburg did not perform that well in September. Sure, they beat Wetzlar and Hamburg, but none of those teams have anything to do at the top of the Bundesliga table. And when they played Kiel, they lost by five goals.
Magdeburg will get back on the horse again, especially when they get some players back (Claar won’t be back in 2024, though).
8: THW Kiel
Current Bundesliga standing: 10
Is THW Kiel a house of cards this year as well? It’s, of course, to early to say, but it’s not impossible that this season, too, will end up in disappointment for the Zebras.
Losing two games and winning two games in September is just not good enough. Sure, the losses came against an improved Löwen team and a Melsungen team where the goalkeeper walked on water, but still.
Three players have been great for Kiel, though: Andreas Wolff is a beast, Eric Johansson is the most important player for them, and Emil Madsen has scored at an impressive pace.
9: VfL Gummersbach
Current Bundesliga standing: 7
What is going on in Gummersbach? Is everything going to shit already this season? No, of course not. But what is a fact is that Gummersbach has been very up and down in September. And the obvious answer as to why is that they are playing in Europe this year.
Quite a lot of the players in this team are not used to fighting at two fronts at the same time, and that will be a challenge for coach Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson all season long, I believe.
I am sure that Gummersbach will get it going soon, but September was not as great for this team as many would have thought.
10: SG BBM Bietigheim
Current Bundesliga standing: 11
Two wins and two losses. That is not a bad start to the new season for newly promoted Bietigheim.
The wins came against Potsdam and Eisenach (it is always great to win against presumed rivals at the bottom part of the table) and the losses against Löwen and Gummersbach.
The thing that has impressed me the most about this team so far? The fact that they are not dependent on one, two, or even three players. In the win against Potsdam, seven players contributed with three goals or more.
11: TBV Lemgo
Current Bundesliga standing: 12
One goalkeeper has impressed me more than any other so far this season in the Bundesliga, and that is David Späth. But not that far behind is Constantin Möstl in the Lemgo goal. The young Austrian stole a lot of handball hearts during the European Championship in January and made the move to Lemgo ahead of this season. What a signing by Lemgo!
Möstl saved 14 shots in his Bundesliga premiere against Melsungen (Lemgo only scored 20 goals in that game and ultimately lost), 12 saves against Gummersbach (a game that Lemgo won on the road), and 11 saves against Wetzlar (another win for Lemgo). 2 out of 3 wins there. And when his performance sunk a bit, with five saves against Hamburg, Lemgo lost.
If Möstl can continue in this fashion, Lemgo could be looking at a top-10 spot in the Bundesliga this season. But for that to happen, they have to score more goals and help their keeper win games for them.
12: Handball Sport Verein Hamburg
Current Bundesliga standing: 8
The Northern Germans have a team packed with Danes (okay, not packed, but at least there are some key players from Denmark in the team). And the best performers so far for Hamburg this season have been Jacob Lassen and Frederik Bo Andersen.
But let’s not forget Leif Tissier, either. Could the 24-year-old Hamburg native be in for a breakout season? Perhaps. He has looked impressive so far.
How did Hamburg do in September? Two wins, one draw, and one loss. Quite okay, but not more, in other words.
13: ThSV Eisenach
Current Bundesliga standing: 13
What do you do a season after you overperformed all year long, and your best player who won the top scorer award left your club for greener pastures? Well, you let other young guns shine.
Manuel Zehnder took the Bundesliga by storm last season but has since moved on to Magdeburg after the injury to Felix Claar. That means more room for Marko Grgic to do his thing – and he has certainly taken advantage of the bigger role this year.
Grgic had six goals and four assists against Berlin, 4+9 against Erlangen, and 14 (!)+5 against Bietigheim. No wonder he is considered to be one of the golden boys in German handball.
14: Frisch auf Göppingen
Current Bundesliga standing: 16
Göppingens schedule so far has been brutal. And I mean brutal. The opener was the only game in which Göppingen were favorites, or at least quite equal to their opponent. The game against Hamburg ended 25–25. After that, it’s been tough.
Three zero pointers followed: loss against Kiel away, loss against Flensburg away, and loss against Hannover at home. These losses were not good, but losses came against two of the biggest teams in Germany, and the other loss was against a team that has started the season great.
I guess that October will give us all more knowledge as to where this Göppingen team stands.
15: TVB Stuttgart
Current Bundesliga standing: 15
Nobody is expecting Stuttgart to finish in the upper half of the table this season. Most experts predict that the team from the southern parts of Germany will have a tough season and probably battle to avoid relegation.
Stuttgart’s performances in September haven’t shown us anything different than that. They won against Erlangen away, and that was a huge one, but only to lose against Wetzlar.
Kai Häfner has been great for Stuttgart, but the right back needs better help from his teammates. That’s for sure.
16: VfL Potsdam
Current Bundesliga standing: 17
If you want the adventure in the Bundesliga to be more than a one-year thing, what is the most important thing? No-one? Okay, I will answer. The most important thing is to win the right matches! Which ones are the right matches, you ask? The games against other teams that are likely to end up fighting to avoid relegation.
September for Potsdam? A loss at home against Bietigheim (also promoted this season), a loss against Melsungen away (that’s okay), and a loss against Hamburg at home (also acceptable, but still a tough one to handle).
October can’t have the same outcome. If it does, I fear that Potsdam can start to plan for 2.Bundesliga before 2024 turns 2025.
17: HSG Wetzlar
Current Bundesliga standing: 14
I would have liked to turn that frown upside down for Wetzlar, but it’s hard to do, considering the performances of this team during September. Four games = three losses.
But I can at least find one positive thing about Wetzlar in September, and that is Philipp Ahouansou. The 23-year-old left back scored 17 goals in 3 games. Hopefully, for Wetzlar’s sake, he can continue in that fashion.
Or, by the way, make that two positive things. The win against Stuttgart away was huge!
18: HC Erlangen
Current Bundesliga standing: 18
But Wetzlar wasn’t the worst team in September in the Bundesliga. No, no. The obvious worst team was HC Erlangen.
The loss against Flensburg away is fine. Everyone agrees with that one. And the same regarding the loss against Berlin.
But if you can’t defeat Eisenach or Stuttgart at home, then you are in for a tough season.