Bundesliga

With three matchdays left, the TTBL schedule features decisive showdowns. On Matchday 20, league leaders Borussia Düsseldorf travel on Friday to closest challengers SV Werder Bremen. The winner will put themselves in an excellent position in the race for the regular-season title. At the other end of the table, the fight for survival takes centre stage: ASC Grünwettersbach urgently need a win as the bottom club visit second-bottom TSV Bad Königshofen. The loser risks relegation at the end of the season. All TTBL matches are streamed live on Dyn.

1. FC Saarbrücken-TT – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell

1.FC Saarbrücken-TT suffered a disappointing defeat in Bad Homburg on Wednesday — yet still secured their play-off place mathematically. The cup winners’ ambitions for the regular season, however, are far from satisfied. In the final sprint, Saarbrücken want to optimise their seeding and could still make a push for second place. To do so, they will ideally need a win over Fulda, but the personnel issues from the Bad Homburg match are set to linger on Friday. Darko Jorgic and Eduard Ionescu remain unavailable, and Patrick Franziska is also expected to miss out due to the World Cup in China. Franziska did, however, announce that Fan Zhendong will feature in Saarbrücken’s penultimate home match of the season. Fulda sit comfortably in mid-table on 16:22 points and could still finish the campaign in the top half with a strong run-in.

SV Werder Bremen – Borussia Düsseldorf

Friday night in Bremen brings the TTBL summit meeting. If Werder win by at least 3:1, the Hanseatics would take over top spot with two matchdays remaining. A victory for the record champions, on the other hand, would all but decide the race for the regular-season title. The first-leg meeting in the first half of the season went emphatically to Bremen, who stormed the ARAG Centercourt and left with a clean 3:0 win. On that occasion, Kirill Gerassimenko (17:9), Mattias Falck (15:9) and Irvin Bertrand (9:3) all scored points, underlining their outstanding TTBL campaigns. Bremen’s strong season has been built on consistency: beyond the core trio, only Marcelo Aguirre (4:3) has featured. Düsseldorf, meanwhile, have used five players so far — and their depth could be required again on Friday, with three members of the squad competing at the World Cup in China.

TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg

Bad Homburg’s win over Saarbrücken — remarkably their second of the season against the cup winners — has put Helmut Hampl’s team in an excellent position in the relegation battle with three matchdays to go. To secure safety, the club from Hesse need one more win or another defeat for ASC Grünwettersbach. Hampl remained cautious after beating Saarbrücken: “In theory, anything is possible,” he told Dyn. Also possible — and very likely — is Bergneustadt reaching the Liebherr TTBL Final4. Schwalbe likewise need one more win or a slip from their rivals in Ochsenhausen to be able to plan safely for the play-offs. If Frederik Duda’s team make it to the Final Four, special mention should go to the strong season being enjoyed by Romain Ruiz, who holds a 13–6 record.

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – Post SV Mühlhausen

Ochsenhausen and Mühlhausen approach Saturday’s meeting from very different starting points. Ochsenhausen still have theoretical — but hardly realistic — play-off hopes, while Mühlhausen are close to safety in the relegation battle but not quite there yet. Defending champions Ochsenhausen have produced a strong season after last summer’s rebuild, with their young squad delivering several surprises. Another win would be their 11th of the campaign and would guarantee head coach Bogdan Pugna’s team at least a balanced record by season’s end. Like Bad Homburg, Post SV still need one more victory or another slip from ASC Grünwettersbach to be able to plan with complete certainty for TTBL football next season.

TSV Bad Königshofen – ASC Grünwettersbach

For ASC Grünwettersbach, a win away on Sunday is non-negotiable. After 19 matchdays, Karlsruhe sit bottom on eight points. If that remains the case at the end of the season, relegation to the second tier would follow. The direct duel at second-bottom TSV Bad Königshofen offers hope. The Bavarians are two points better off than Grünwettersbach, but would drop to last place in the event of defeat due to an inferior match record. A TSV win, meanwhile, would almost certainly secure survival. Added spice comes from Kilian Ort’s personal connection: the ASC head coach spent 20 years at TSV before a back injury ended his playing career early. Now, with his new club, Ort returns to his old home with a crucial victory in mind.

Matchday 20 fixtures

Friday, 27 March:
18:30: 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell
19:00: SV Werder Bremen – Borussia Düsseldorf
19:30: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg

Saturday, 28 March:
15:00: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – Post SV Mühlhausen

Sunday, 29 March:
14:00: TSV Bad Königshofen – ASC Grünwettersbach

All matches are streamed live on Dyn.

Picture: Ricardo Walther of ASC Grünwettersbach (Photo: Hansruedi Lüthi)