Matchday 6: Next top match for Düsseldorf, basement duel in Grenzau
Seven days after the summit meeting with TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen, Borussia Düsseldorf has the next top match to look forward to: on Matchday 6 of the German Table Tennis League (TTBL), the record champion will take on second-placed TTC Neu-Ulm. TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell, meanwhile, hopes to leave the bottom of the table at TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau.
1st FC Saarbrücken TT - TSV Bad Königshofen
TSV Bad Königshofen has made five attempts to win in Saarbrücken in the German Table Tennis League (TTBL), but has never succeeded. 0:3, 1:3, 0:3, 0:3, 2:3 were the results for the team from Lower Franconia in the past years. Before the sixth attempt the hope for the coup might be rather small in view of large personnel problems: Yukiya Uda is not available on Friday evening, as is Martin Allegro, who underwent hip surgery on Thursday. The use of Bastian Steger is also still questionable. The team's recent successes should give them confidence: Two of the most recent three games were won, both against Grünwettersbach and on Monday against Grenzau after a 0:2 deficit was still won 3:2. However, 1. FC Saarbrücken TT is in excellent form: Across competitions, Patrick Franziska and Co. won five games in a row, most recently a 3:1 in Mainz.
SV Werder Bremen - 1. FSV Mainz 05
Even though SV Werder Bremen recently suffered their first setback of the season, the Hanseatic League team is still on target after the 2:3 in Grünwettersbach. With 6:4 points, Werder is in third place and could further establish itself in the top half of the table with a win on Saturday evening. Previously, the Bremen team had only lost to Düsseldorf. However, 1. FSV Mainz 05 is likely to be a tough nut to crack: Even though the promoted team has only won one game and is in eleventh place with 2:8 points, Mainz has always sold itself dearly in its previous appearances, including most recently in the 1:3 loss to Saarbrücken.
TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen - Post SV Mühlhausen
The TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen have two important matches ahead of them: On Friday, they will play Grenzau in the cup quarterfinals for a place in the Final Four, and on Sunday, the team wants to stop the recent downward trend in the TTBL and stay in the top group with a win. After three victories at the start of the season, Ochsenhausen most recently lost against Mainz (1:3) and against Düsseldorf (0:3). "There is nothing left for us to do now but wipe our mouths, look ahead and focus fully on next weekend," said TTF President Kristijan Pejinovic. Positive from the point of view of the Swabians is that, unlike recently in Düsseldorf, all players are available. The Post SV Mühlhausen recently decided the basement duel against Fulda with 3:0 games and 9:0 sets fulminant for itself and would like to take this momentum now to Ochsenhausen. In the cup, the Thuringians are challenged only two weeks later, on November 27, it goes to Neu-Ulm.
TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau - TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell
After finishing fourth in the previous season, TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell is still struggling in the new season. The East Hessians have only managed one win so far, and on the last match day they even suffered a 3-0 defeat with 0:9 sets in Mühlhausen. "We must not and will not look at balances or standings," warns Markus Ströher, manager of TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau, against underestimating the opponent. "We are up against a strong opponent and four players who, on a good day, are capable of making their singles successful. But we also know what we are capable of." Both Fulda and Grenzau currently have 2:8 points on their account and are already challenged in the cup on Friday night before the TTBL duel: Fulda fights in the quarterfinals against Düsseldorf for another jump into the Final Four, Grenzau at the same time against Ochsenhausen.
TTC Neu-Ulm - Borussia Düsseldorf
Top match double pack for Borussia Düsseldorf: First the record champion fights on Friday evening in the remake of last year's semifinal against Fulda for a place in the cup semifinals, before the next summit meeting in the TTBL awaits on Sunday. After Düsseldorf had beaten second-placed Ochsenhausen in the previous week (3:0), it now goes to the new table runner-up, TTC Neu-Ulm. "We are curious to see how Neu-Ulm will line up. If they field the best team, we will gladly accept the challenge," says Düsseldorf coach Danny Heister, whose team is at the top of the table with 10-0 points. Neu-Ulm's lineup is especially questionable because the team will be competing in the Champions League a few hours earlier: before facing Düsseldorf at 5 p.m., the TTC will play KS Dekorglass Dzialdowo in the second main round of the TTCLM starting at 11 a.m.
ASV Grünwettersbach - TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt
ASV Grünwettersbach celebrated a very important victory last Sunday: After trailing 1:2, the team from Baden still won 3:2 against Bremen, thus preventing a possible fall into the relegation zone and gaining fresh self-confidence for the upcoming matches. On Sunday, Grünwettersbach will play in the cup quarterfinals in Saarbrücken, followed by the TTBL home match against TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt on Monday evening. The team from Oberberg is currently on 4:6 points and recently suffered a 0:3 defeat against Neu-Ulm. Alberto Mino, who was absent against Neu-Ulm due to his participation in the Pan American Championships, where he won bronze in both singles and doubles, should be available again on Monday.
The 6th matchday in overview
Friday, November 11
7 p.m.: 1. FC Saarbrücken TT – TSV Bad Königshofen
Saturday, November 12
6 p.m.: SV Werder Bremen – 1. FSV Mainz 05
Sunday, November 13
1 p.m.: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – Post SV Mühlhausen
3 p.m.: TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell
5 p.m.: TTC Neu-Ulm – Borussia Düsseldorf
Monday, November 14
7 p.m.: ASV Grünwettersbach – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt
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