On Tuesday, the SG Flensburg-Handewitt have to face THW Kiel. Although the die is already cast in the EHF European League, the 115th national derby is more than just an overture to the 116th edition on Saturday. Kick-off on Tuesday is at 20:45.
THW Kiel have held their own in the EHF European League so far, also winning in the GP JOULE Arena three weeks ago (32:30) and will finish the main round in first place. The SG is in a secure second place ahead of the final matchday. It will therefore have to compete in an additional play-off round in the European competition around Easter. The opponent will be determined on Tuesday evening. It will either be SAH Aarhus, Elverum Handbold or FC Porto. While things are extremely exciting in the parallel group, the tension has largely disappeared from the team's own season. In some places, there is already talk of a "practice match". A description that Aleš Pajović cannot accept. "When we talk about a training match, we're only talking about half measures," said the SG coach. "We want to step on the gas and win - it's a national derby." Aleš Pajović also does not consider the fact that the two rivals might not play every trump card in view of the Bundesliga clash on Saturday to be particularly relevant. "Kiel know what we can do anyway," he emphasizes and smiles: "And of course we know what Kiel can do."
Balance of pace and pressure management
The squad on Tuesday will probably look pretty similar to the one that beat Leipzig 36:28. Kent Robin Tønnesen had his first minutes of action in 2026 and also made a good impression in the training session on Monday. There is still a question mark over Kevin Møller, meaning that the young keeper Catalin Haidu is back. Overall, the workload will be distributed more evenly than usual. "My plan is not to let Simon Pytlick play the full 60 minutes," explained Aleš Pajović. "On the other hand, we also want to keep up the pace and have a good game." It is equally unclear which team THW Kiel will field. Not only were the injured Emil Madsen and Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu missing in the 27:32 defeat in Stuttgart, but Eric Johansson and Lukas Laube were also ill.