Bundesliga

The Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) heads into Matchday 8 this weekend. Record champions Borussia Düsseldorf host fellow title contenders TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt, while Fulda will determine the leading challenger for the play-off places. League leaders SV Werder Bremen travel to Grünwettersbach, and bottom club Bad Königshofen seek a morale-boosting result against Post SV Mühlhausen.

Borussia Dortmund – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau

The round opens on Friday evening with a relegation scrap. Just two days after a 0–3 defeat in the Borussia derby, Dortmund welcome perennial TTBL outfit Grenzau — under rather different circumstances. “We want to live up to our role as favourites,” said BVB head coach Evgeny Fadeev, noting that his team “played well against record champions Düsseldorf, which also makes us optimistic for the match against Grenzau.” For TTC, a first away win of the season could come at just the right time: after seven matchdays, manager Markus Ströher’s side have slipped into the drop zone. Dortmund, meanwhile, should be able to chase their first home win with Kristian Karlsson back. There is still a question mark over top player Anders Lind: the former Grenzau man missed the Düsseldorf match with a hip injury. “BVB have a strong team that can line up in different configurations and is therefore hard for us to predict,” Ströher warned ahead of the meeting with their table neighbours.

TSV Bad Königshofen – Post SV Mühlhausen

After a bitter defeat in the six-pointer against Bad Homburg, bottom side TSV Bad Königshofen are under pressure. If a second win of the season does not arrive at home to Post SV, the gap to safety could already be four points after eight matchdays. The visitors from Thuringia are not in danger of a relegation battle, but a crisis is hard to deny after Thursday night’s 2–3 loss to TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen. Having started the campaign with a sensational three wins from three, they have since suffered four defeats in a row. To stay in the play-off conversation, a victory in Bad Königshofen is required on Saturday.

TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen

In Ochsenhausen, Shunsuke Togami has sparked optimism for the injury- and departure-hit defending champions. With the Japanese star in the line-up, the Swabians are unbeaten in three, and no TTBL player has beaten Togami this season. As a result, Ochsenhausen sit fifth after seven matchdays, leading the chase for the play-off places. Close on TTF’s heels are TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell. Led by Dimitrij Ovtcharov, Fulda have been solid so far but failed to win any of their head-to-heads with title contenders Düsseldorf, Saarbrücken and Bergneustadt (all 1–3). In this chasers’ duel, the Hessians will look to collect their first big points of the season.

Borussia Düsseldorf – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt

The matchday’s highlight comes on Sunday lunchtime at the ARAG CenterCourt. “It’s an absolute top match and certainly a signpost for both teams — whether they push higher or drift into mid-table,” said Borussia general manager Andreas Preuß of the meeting between fourth-placed Düsseldorf and third-placed Bergneustadt. Both sides sit on 10:4 points, just one win behind leaders SV Werder Bremen, yet only two points away from slipping out of the play-off spots. The visitors may have the fresher legs, not only thanks to the short trip: Düsseldorf play the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie in Priego de Córdoba less than 40 hours earlier. A direct duel between Germany’s top men could materialise as well: Düsseldorf’s Dang Qiu (WR 9 / 3–0 TTBL record) reclaimed Germany’s No. 1 status after a strong showing at WTT Champions Frankfurt, ahead of Bergneustadt’s Benedikt Duda (WR 10 / 10–2), who currently tops the TTBL leaderboard.

ASC Grünwettersbach – SV Werder Bremen

The form team of the moment are SV Werder Bremen. In northern Germany, however, head coach Cristian Tamas urges caution: “We know that even as league leaders we won’t pick up points easily anywhere — especially in Grünwettersbach, who have already beaten Borussia Düsseldorf at home this season.” The hosts should be able to field veteran Tiago Apolonia in front of their own crowd; he is slated to return from knee issues in Friday’s Champions League match. Ricardo Walther remains doubtful; in Europe he is at least expected to support the team from the bench. Recent history favours the visitors: Werder have won all five of their last meetings with the Baden side — their longest active streak against any TTBL opponent over the past three seasons.

1. FC Saarbrücken-TT – TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg

The visitors from Bad Homburg should travel to the Saarland in good spirits, having just won a crucial basement battle against TSV Bad Königshofen to climb out of the relegation zone. They also have a shot at the German Table Tennis Cup Final Four on Tuesday (7 p.m.) at home to record champions Borussia Düsseldorf. The clash with FCS — built around Patrick Franziska and Darko Jorgic and likely without Chinese superstar Fan Zhendong — thus sits between two emotional peaks for Bad Homburg. The hosts cannot afford to underestimate the relegation-threatened opponent. Having already slipped up against Bergneustadt and Bremen, the ambitious Champions League winners need to keep the pressure high on their rivals.

Matchday 8 fixtures

Friday, 14 November:
7 p.m.: Borussia Dortmund – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau

Saturday, 15 November:
5:30 p.m.: TSV Bad Königshofen – Post SV Mühlhausen
6 p.m.: TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen

Sunday, 16 November:
12 p.m.: Borussia Düsseldorf – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt
1 p.m.: ASC Grünwettersbach – SV Werder Bremen
3:30 p.m.: 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT – TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg

Picture: Dang Qiu of Borussia Düsseldorf (Photo: Jörg Fuhrmann)