November delivered one of the most dramatic months of the season, with a new team rising to the top and several contenders stumbling. Unexpected upsets reshuffled the middle of the pack, while a few dark horses quietly built momentum. From Magdeburg’s surge to Berlin’s slip and Flensburg’s inconsistency, the league is shifting fast. Here’s how all 18 teams line up in this month’s Power Rankings Bundesliga.
Power Rankings is Ola Selbys monthly take on which teams are truly in form. It’s not about the league table, but about how the teams have performed during the past month.
Here are the Bundesliga Power Rankings for November!
1: SC Magdeburg
Current Bundesliga standing: 1
Power rankings October: 2
Photo: Ludvig Thunman / BILDBYRÅN
Unlike the other top teams in the Bundesliga, there is no trace of insecurity, sloppiness or dropped points from Magdeburg. Their star power is too strong and their bench too deep for that. To me it’s actually quite obvious that Magdeburg are the best – and above all the most stable – team in the Bundesliga this season.
Beating Wetzlar (33–20) and Minden (36–21) wasn’t exactly a heroic feat, but winning comfortably against Löwen despite trailing with 20 minutes left, and especially beating Flensburg by four in Flens Arena, oozes quality.
The standout in November was undoubtedly Sergey Hernandez, who right now is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Magdeburg conceded – excluding the Flensburg match – 24, 20 and 21 goals in November. Pure class.
2: Füchse Berlin
Current Bundesliga standing: 5
Power rankings October: 8
Berlin second-best in November despite losing to Lemgo? Yes, that’s my take. Lemgo are clearly a genuinely good team, and that win wasn’t their first big scalp this season. So even though Berlin should have done better, the loss came by a single goal – hardly a disaster.
Otherwise? Three wins in three attempts. A big one against Leipzig, and then narrow but convincing wins against both Kiel and Löwen. The focus is still, of course, on Mathias Gidsel and Lasse Andersson – and while that duo would be a dream for any team in the world, it is a bit worrying how much weaker Berlin’s depth is compared to, say, Magdeburg’s.
But maybe the two rumored arrivals in a season or two will help. Both Simon Pytlick and Dika Mem are said to be done deals…
3: SG Flensburg-Handewitt
Current Bundesliga standing: 2
Power rankings October: 1
Well, November just wasn’t good enough from Flensburg. Not if they’re trying to win the Bundesliga, anyway. The wins against an in-form Hamburg and away against Melsungen were strong, but having no chance (yes, that’s how it was) at home against Magdeburg and “only” getting a draw against Gummersbach simply isn’t good enough.
The main issue is the defense. Conceding 29 against Hamburg, 35 against Magdeburg, 32 against Melsungen and 37 against Gummersbach doesn’t exactly scream “lifting the trophy in May.”
On the flip side, the offense is often sparkling – mainly thanks to Simon Pytlick and Marko Grgic (who dropped 13 goals on Gummersbach as the individual highlight of the month).
4: TBV Lemgo
Current Bundesliga standing: 4
Power rankings October: 5
The start of November wasn’t what Lemgo had hoped for, losing by one at home to Hannover. And the following match wasn’t ideal either, considering it took plenty of late drama to beat Erlangen. But they did what they needed to do and secured the two points.
After that, though, Lemgo’s month took off. Big time. They humiliated Eisenach with a 28–19 win (Constantin Möstl posted a 41 percent save rate in that game) and delivered a huge upset by beating defending champions Berlin 34–33 away.
Hendrik Wagner decided that game with his eighth goal, and he was brilliant in November – in a Lemgo team that is otherwise very much a collective machine.
5: THW Kiel
Current Bundesliga standing: 3
Power rankings October: 3
If Flensburg’s November was a “meh”, the same can probably be said for Kiel. Sure, they beat Bergischer and scored 43 goals – but they also conceded 35 against a newly promoted team. And yes, they won at home against Göppingen, but it was far from comfortable.
Then came the loss in the top clash against Berlin, where Elias Ellefsen a Skipagötu (12 goals, 4 assists) was far too alone. And the big disappointment was failing to beat Eisenach, having to settle for a draw.
That game itself was wild: six technical errors from Kiel, 16 from Eisenach. And both Wolff and Perez de Vargas were outshone by Eisenach’s Spikic. A sentence I never thought I’d write.
6: VfL Gummersbach
Current Bundesliga standing: 6
Power rankings October: 7
Photo: Vegard Wivestad Grøtt / BILDBYRÅN
Gummersbach continue to look genuinely interesting. Sure, a cynical reporter might note that it took a late goal from Kristian Horzen to beat Wetzlar, but two points are two points.
Against Leipzig, there was no discussion. Köster, Smits and Schluroff had a field day, and Gummersbach strolled to victory. And grabbing a point against Flensburg after a buzzer-beater from Tilen Kodrin was of course a feather in their cap.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson is doing a tremendous job with this team, especially considering the visible development in several players.
7: MT Melsungen
Current Bundesliga standing: 7
Power rankings October: 6
Photo: Käsler/MT
In October I wrote that I thought Melsungen were on their way back after a rough start to the season. Do I still think so? Both yes and no. They’re clearly better now than in September, but they weren’t better in November than they were in October. Stagnation? Probably.
They made a strong comeback to win 30–27 away against Minden – but should a comeback have been needed? No. The 29–29 draw against Hannover? Not good enough considering Hannover’s struggles. The loss against Flensburg is fine, no complaints there.
But failing to score in the last five minutes against Göppingen and having to settle for a draw – that’s not impressive. A messy summary of Melsungen’s November? Maybe. But November was messy for a team that just can’t quite lift off, even if they only lost once (and against a top team).
8: Bergischer HC
Current Bundesliga standing: 15
Power rankings October: 16
The biggest climbers – compared to October and compared to their league position. Bergischer really impressed me in November, both with their performances and the points they collected.
They hung in there against Kiel and scored 35 goals – strong. They beat Löwen by three after 15 saves from Rudeck – nice. They lost to Hannover by four but were tied 29–29 with six minutes left – respectable. And they beat Hamburg 35–32 thanks to a brilliant 7+5 performance from Sören Steinhaus.
Four points out of eight possible for a newly promoted team is seriously good. Well done, Bergischer!
9: Göppingen
Current Bundesliga standing: 8
Power rankings October: 9
Photo: Joel Marklund / BILDBYRÅN
What’s the opposite of being a shadow of your former self? Right now, that’s Göppingen. Everything in their game – the structure, the roles – is better this season than last. And it shows, both in the table and on the court.
Three points from six in November isn’t spectacular, but considering they drew with Melsungen and narrowly lost to Kiel, those are good displays. And they comfortably beat Hamburg.
Best players? Three stand out: Kristian Sæverås in goal, Oskar Sunnefeldt overall, and Marcel Schiller for his ice-cold finishing.
10: Rhein-Neckar Löwen
Current Bundesliga standing: 9
Power rankings October: 10
November was a weird month for Löwen. Every other match was against a top team (Magdeburg, Berlin), and every other against a bottom team (Bergischer, Wetzlar). That should mean four points and everything fine, right? Well, not quite.
As expected, they got zero points against Magdeburg and Berlin, despite decent performances. And they ended the month by beating Wetzlar by seven, which was good. The problem? They lost by three to Bergischer – a real low point.
11: Hamburg Handball
Current Bundesliga standing: 10
Power rankings October: 4
Hamburg and I are on a journey together. We started shakily last season when I often criticized them for lacking identity and being boring. Then something changed, and in the October Power Rankings I had Hamburg as high as fourth. I was a bit shocked myself – but the ranking was deserved.
Now? Hamburg are back in the no-man’s-land of mid-table, where few really pay attention. And I can’t quite figure them out. They clearly lost to both Göppingen and Bergischer in November.
The only real highlight was the 34–26 win against Erlangen, where – of course – the Danes dominated, scoring 28 of the team’s 34 goals.
12: TSV Hannover-Burgdorf
Current Bundesliga standing: 11
Power rankings October: 15
Photo: Vegard Wivestad Grøtt / BILDBYRÅN
Is the “old” Hannover back? Maybe. They played four matches in November and had a goal difference of 120–115. Incredibly tight games across the board – very reminiscent of last season. And the club is still in a bit of a crisis, especially with coach Prokop confirmed to leave after the season. A quick rundown of their November:
Lemgo–Hannover 29–30: Ten goals from August Pedersen, who scored the winner at the buzzer.
Melsungen–Hannover 29–29: Pedersen equalized on a penalty with ten seconds left.
Hannover–Bergischer 34–30: Simon Gade shut the door in the final six minutes; otherwise even.
Leipzig–Hannover 27–27: Weak again against the bottom team.
No losses, and the only “strange” point dropped was against Leipzig – but does every match have to be this tight?
13: HC Erlangen
Current Bundesliga standing: 12
Power rankings October: 13
Photo: Michael Erichsen / BILDBYRÅN
Erlangen started the month by completely running over Eisenach in the first half, only to lose (almost) everything in the second and win by just one (Viggo Kristjansson scored 12 in that match). Then they delivered a strong team performance against Lemgo and lost by just one, before finishing the month poorly with an eight-goal loss to Hamburg and only a draw against Stuttgart.
My point? Their form is dipping, despite a better-than-expected start to the season.
14: ThSV Eisenach
Current Bundesliga standing: 13
Power rankings October: 11
Eisenach won one, drew one and lost two in November. So their highlight must have been the win over Stuttgart? You’d think so, but no. The highlight was obviously taking a point from Kiel in a crazy match where they managed to draw despite having more than twice as many technical errors as Kiel. They can thank Matija Spikic, who was twice as good as stars Wolff and Perez de Vargas.
Where does that leave Eisenach overall? Middle of the road.
15: TVB Stuttgart
Current Bundesliga standing: 14
Power rankings October: 12
Everyone expected Stuttgart to be fighting at the bottom this season. Taking three points from six in November was also expected.
Losing away to Eisenach? Expected, especially since Stuttgart scored only eight goals in the second half. Beating Minden at home? If you want to stay in the Bundesliga, you must beat newly promoted sides at home. Drawing away against Erlangen? Fair enough – on paper those teams are evenly matched.
The point? Stuttgart are doing exactly what is expected of them. Nothing more, nothing less.
16: HSG Wetzlar
Current Bundesliga standing: 17
Power rankings October: 17
I was harsh on Wetzlar after October. And November didn’t look any better. This team appears to be heading straight for the basement – if they’re not already there.
I know the schedule was tough (Gummersbach, Magdeburg, Löwen), but there was nothing in their performances suggesting things will improve once they face weaker opponents. If I’m reaching for positives, Ahouansou continued his scoring form (10 against Gummersbach), but beyond that? Hard to find any bright spots.
17: GWD Minden
Current Bundesliga standing: 16
Power rankings October: 14
Are Minden back on earth after their strong October? I think so. They did win one match in November, but it was against Leipzig – and there are probably a few teams in the 2. Bundesliga who would beat Leipzig this season.
Otherwise, three losses: to Melsungen, Stuttgart and Magdeburg. The standout – in a bad way – was the nine-goal loss to Stuttgart.
The only light in the darkness was Malte Semisch in goal, solid against Melsungen (10 saves) and excellent against Leipzig (19 saves).
18: SC DHFK Leipzig
Current Bundesliga standing: 18
Power rankings October: 18
Was that single sad point against Hannover the spark Leipzig needed? If I’m being optimistic, sure, maybe. But more realistically, things are going to continue along the same path. Because as nice as that point was, it didn’t help when the rest of November produced zero points.
No chance against Berlin, no chance against Minden, no chance against Gummersbach. And soon no chances left to save the season.