Matchday 11: Cup final rehearsal between Ochsenhausen and Neu-Ulm

Showdown in the year 2022 in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL): With the 11th matchday, the first round will be completed from Tuesday to Thursday. Among other things, there will be a dress rehearsal for the cup semifinals between TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen and TTC Neu-Ulm as well as the basement duel between TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell and 1st FSV Mainz 05.

SV Werder Bremen - TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau

On the home stretch of the first half of the season, SV Werder Bremen seems to be running out of steam a bit: The Hanseatic League won only one of the last four matches, last Sunday there was a bitter defeat in Bergneustadt, which moved the play-off places a bit further away again. As sixth Werder listed for the first time since the first match day worse than fifth place in the Tischtennis Bundesliga (TTBL). "We want to come home quickly, digest the defeat and then attack again on Tuesday against Grenzau," said coach Cristian Tamas after the 1:3. The upcoming opponent, on the other hand, should be positively brimming with self-confidence. The TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau is still in the bottom of the table with 6:14 points. With the 3:2 against Duesseldorf succeeded however last two Big points, which should give each quantity tail wind to the team. "A super game from everyone and a very, very important victory," said TTC manager Markus Ströher after the third win of the season: "Now we're going to Bremen for the last match of the first half of the season with a lot of concentration.

Post SV Mühlhausen - TSV Bad Königshofen

Post SV Mühlhausen remains on the rise: the Thuringians recently strung together four wins in a row and climbed to fourth place in the table thanks to the recent 3:1 win over Neu-Ulm, their best finish of the season so far. Should they also manage a win on Wednesday evening - it would be the sixth from the latest seven TTBL matches - Mühlhausen would enter the winter break in a play-off position. TSV Bad Königshofen, on the other hand, hopes to draw level with Post SV on points at the end of the year. Currently, the team from Lower Franconia (10:10) is only just behind its upcoming opponent (12:8). Bad Königshofen had also been on the rise for a long time, but recently conceded a surprising 3-1 defeat against Mainz, as a result of which the team is currently only seventh.

Borussia Düsseldorf - TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt

Since Sunday, the vest of the table leader also has the first stain. With 2:3 Borussia Düsseldorf lost in Grenzau and had to accept the first defeat of the season. Despite this, however, the record champions remain confidently on course: with 18:2 points, the Düsseldorfers are already established as the autumn champions and will be willing to return to the winning track against TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt on Wednesday and pick up momentum for the Final Four once again. "We are planning on using Timo Boll. In addition, we use every match as preparation for the Final Four in the Cup," says Borussia coach Danny Heister. In the Cup semifinals, Boll and Co. will face defending champion 1. FC Saarbrücken TT on January 8 (tickets for the event are available here). "With the momentum and hopefully a win, we then go into Christmas," hopes Heister. On the other hand, Bergneustadt recently breathed a sigh of relief. The TTC won against Bremen on Sunday and thus defended ninth place (6:14 points).

1st FC Saarbrücken TT - ASV Grünwettersbach

Personnel worries currently determine the events at ASV Grünwettersbach: Already against Fulda, the Baden team had to do without Wang Xi and Tiago Apolonia, both of whom were injured in the abdominal muscles, and lost despite a brave performance in the doubles. Also before the away match at the 1. FC Saarbrücken TT the use of the duo is questionable, so that ASV coach Achim Krämer could fall back again on Ryota Shimmyo. The situation is much more comfortable for FCS: The reigning runners-up can draw on a full complement of players, conquered second place in the TTBL last Friday, followed up with another victory in the Champions League on Sunday and could even draw on two players from the second team in Mathias Hübgen and Peter Hribar.

TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell - 1. FSV Mainz 05

The eleventh in the table receives the twelfth in the table: At the end of the first half of the season, both TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell and 1. FSV Mainz 05 have another chance to take a big step away from the bottom of the table - the loser, however, will go into the Christmas break with some worries. Both teams were allowed to breathe a sigh of relief just a few days ago: Fulda achieved what was supposed to be a liberating blow in Grünwettersbach, and Mainz followed suit a little later in Bad Königshofen. However, since the competition in the bottom of the table also won, the constellation is unchanged. "We want to go one better in Fulda," announced Mainz sports director Tomasz Kasica after the latest success. The hopes of the Rheinhessen team are likely to rest on Yuto Muramatsu again on Thursday: the 26-year-old has a 12:2 singles record and is currently the most successful player in the TTBL.

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen - TTC Neu-Ulm

The Final Four in the German Table Tennis Cup is casting its shadow ahead: Before the semi-final clash between TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen and TTC Neu-Ulm takes place on January 8 in the ratiopharm arena Ulm/Neu-Ulm (tickets for the event are available here), the two teams will meet in the TTBL on Thursday. The duel is also the top match of the 11th matchday: although Ochsenhausen recently lost to Saarbrücken, it is in third place with 12:8 points; Neu-Ulm follows in fifth place after losing to Mühlhausen, also with 12:8 points. "Cheer up, work even harder in training," said TTF coach Fu Yong after the match against FCS, "and then next Thursday play even better than today to win the home match against Neu-Ulm." And the anticipation is great: already a few days before the derby, all tickets were sold out.

The 11th matchday in overview

Tuesday, December 20
7 p.m.: SV Werder Bremen – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau

Wednesday, December 21
6.30 p.m.: Post SV Mühlhausen – TSV Bad Königshofen
7 p.m.: 1. FC Saarbrücken TT – ASV Grünwettersbach
7.30 p.m.: Borussia Düsseldorf – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt

Thursday, December 22
6.30 p.m.: TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – 1. FSV Mainz 05
7 p.m.: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TTC Neu-Ulm

You can see all the games live on Spontent's channels on Twitch.