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Lübbecke's first left back questionable for the great local derby

For several days, the town's been talking about the match. There have been some statements about defeating Minden twice and the rest of the matches not being important. I have a different point of view - said Lübbecke's coach Dirk Beuchler

It's a derby as any other, it's more important to beat the opponent than win the title. You know what we mean. This is a great local clash, much more than just a match, 61st in the history.

- For me, this match is like any other, but during the first couple of weeks here, I was able see the importance of this meeting - local Mindener Tageblat reports Minden's coach Goran Perkovac's statement.

- But I'm familiar with that type of situations from my country.

This match means much more to his team than to Lübbecke. We dare to say even beyond the fact that this is a derby. Minden have remained the only team in the league without a win after eight rounds. They tied three times and grabbed those three points, but that's still below expectations and the team are in a dangerous zone. The schedule keeps getting harder and harder. They're playing in Hamburg next week, then in the Cup against Lemgo...

- Drago Vukovic organizes Lübbecke's entire game, he's their most important player. The game with pivots rises or sinks with him and he is very dangerous - Perkovac praises the opponent's best player, after refusing to talk about Lübbecke's weak points.

Perkovac got few good things from back duo Bilbija- Doder. They can't win matches without them and without their excellent shape, Minden will have a lot of problems staying in the league.

- I see Bilbija's hape has improved, I'm sure we'll get the left back. I liked Dalibor's game in Kiel, he created a lot of chances for his co-players - adds Perkovac, and Minden lost that meeting 34-25.

The duo remains questionable but also likely to play, so only Freitag would be absent.

- We have to play united and leave some room for the defense against Frank Løke - says Perkovac, who didn't want to say how he was planning to organize the defense, even though Minden have both 6-0 and offensive versions, which could be necessary, since Perkovac concentrated a lot on Drago Vukovic. However, he's risking opening room for Løke on pivot, so 6-0 is more likely, at least at the beginning of the match.

They played three times last season, two times in the league, once in the Cup in Minden. Minden won both home matches with one goal difference, and were smashed in Lübbecke (33-24). They also played one meeting in the preparations, Lübbecke won 24-22.

The favorites are in today's clash, understandable after only one defeat in the last four rounds, by Flensburg. The result was 16-13 in the first halftime and they played the match without Drago Vukovic. They tied 25-28 in the last round with strong Hannover.

- We can play with a lot of confidence in Minden. We have to stay strong, it will be a big fight - says Lübbecke's coach Dirk Beuchler.

- For several days, the town's been talking about the match. There have been some statements about defeating Minden twice and the rest of the matches not being important. I have a different point of view. We're playing a match against the opponents we can beat - Beuchler tries to calm the situation down, even though he's aware of the tensions and what they're up against.

- A lot will depend on us. We played solid matches in the last couple of rounds and if we repeat that, we have a chance to win the derby.

They had problems with two lefties on the right wing, Wilke and Tauabo, but both are back in practice and will be on the team. The only one questionable is left back Arno Niemeyer, very important player. He has missed almost every practice throughout the week due to a swell on his right knee and his appearance will be decided today.

If he's not able to play, Ales Pajovic will replace him, which is inconvenient for coach Beuhler because the Slovenian is one of the most important defensive players (besidesVukovic and Gustaffson)  and he would have to play both ways.

Lubbecke has shown more in the first 8 rounds, so this role of a favorite is well-founded. Minden is the only team in the league without a win, nut they have three draws. And they did not play that badly, no matter what it looks like at first glance. Besides, that's all water under the bridge today, this is a local derby, emotions are running high, the motivation is even bigger, for both of them this is a special game. And Minden in their last five mutual matches has just one loss. That's something not to forget, for Minden has the same team from last season, plus right back Schapsmeier who came from Magdeburg. And a very important player is questionable for Lubbecke, the first left back. Niemeyer did not train the whole week and it's an issue how the knee will react if he plays, it wa swollen most of the week. The outer line of Minden, Bilbija-Doder-Schapsmeier can endanger the 6-0 defense of Lubbecke and it's my opinion that this will be a very evened-out match. So I'm going with the handicap on Minden, they can lose by a single goal. A good option is also less goals, or Lubbecke less than 28/29, depends on where you find it. They played in preseason, Lubbecke won 24:22.