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Lemgo without their best players!

The first right back Rolf Hermann had to get tooth surgery, and Zieker, Lehrmann and Lemke are down with the flu. Even with them playing, Lemgo received 32 goals per game

Gudmundur Gudmundson was the news of the day yesterday in the Western Europe handball. Löwen's current coach, with a contract until 2015, is supposedly leaving Mannheim at the end of this season, to take over Denmark. Allegedly, Copenhagen promotion has already been settled, and it's long known that Ulrik Wilbek will be leaving the representation after the EC in January. However, this news shouldn't have a big influence on today's game, more so because Löwen is coming back to their own arena (SAP Arena) after four guest games. 

-We're very happy to play home again, and to be supported by our fans - Islandic expert said.

Löwen is setting some interesting records all over Germany. They had a fourth tie against Füchse on Sunday, from the last six games. It could have been the fifth if Mirko Alilovic didn't save Andy Schmidt's last shoot in the Vezsprem and Löwen match. Three ties mean three points lost, and getting behind Kiel even more. Luckily, Löwen is picking up the pace, and with few easier games, October will be an ideal time to prepare for the big derby. Lemgo, Celje and St. Petersburg are waiting for them in the Champions League, followed by Lübbecke, Nordhorn (Cup) and Emsdetten by the end of October. The first game in the next month will be away game against Kiel.

They scored a goal for the 21-21 result in the last second against Berlin. Just like with Magdeburg, it was Patrick Groetzki from the right wing. Interestingly enough, judges helped them out both times. They allowed for the irregular center execution in Magdeburt, and turned a blind eye for Groetzki's foot fault (he stepped on the ground a lot sooner than letting out the ball). 

-We want the points. We missed a lot of opportunities against Berlin, so we want to fix that when we play against Lemgo - Löwen's coach pointed out.

-They played consistently so far, and they're a dangerous opponent. 

Löwen was completed in the last few weeks with Peterson and Manojlovic coming back. Only Sesum and Steinhauser are missing, and we won't see them for a while. A team like this one should have no issues with one of the fastest teams of Bundesleague and one of the worst defenses. Lemgo receives 31,9 on average (scores 31).

After losing from Flensburg at home, they're coming to Mannheim. It ended with 34-40, which might seem interesting, but Flensburg had 20-12 at half time and basically removed any possible doubts. They play a lot better away than at home. They don't know what defeat is on that side (2-2-0), while they scored all three in front of their audience, where, obviously, they feel a special kind of pressure. It should be noted that they played stronger teams at home than away.

- I've been in Lemgo since 2002, but still haven't seen this much appraisal for the team after a defeat. Amazing. It's what this young team deserves - Jörg Zereike said after they've been defeated from Flensburg. 

There might be some big issues in Mannheim today. Rolf Hermann (right back), the best player this season, will be away because of the tooth surgery. Finn Lemke, left back, Patrick Zieker, the wing, and captain Florian Kehrmann, the right wing, are absent because of the flu. This is why the coach Niels Pfannenschmidt is forced to include the younger players, Max Hönning, Valentin Schmidt, Josch Ritterbach and Dominik Ebner. 

- We want to play bravely in spite of the absences. Our offense has to create chances and not make any shoots in a hurry - Lemgo's coach is aware of the discipline that's needed, otherwise, there'll be a lot of  counter attacks and easy goals for Löwen.

Hermann was absent against Flensburg as well, and everyone was impressed by the young 21 y.o. Julian Possehl who scored 5 goals. He'll most likely start as the right backcourt today as well. 

Nobody has beaten Lemgo away this season but I believe they will have their first defeat today. Their right back Rolf Hermann is their most important player and he is missing today and so are several other important players. It was obvious against Flensburg that Lemgo are in trouble without Hermann, especially against great defenses. I've written about this last week, you could see that against Melsungen and Göppingen who, like Flensburg, know how to play a tough 6-0. Löwen have all of this and can even do better, with a great Landino between the sticks. This is their first game after four consecutive away games, they need the points to make up for their draws as they are lagging behind Kiel. Everything under 5 would be surprising as the difference in quality is huge.