Bundesliga Men: Polo Lead the League, but Thursday’s Hamburg Derby Starts the Return Round

The Bundesliga’s return round doesn’t ease anybody in. It starts with a derby, in the city that took everything last weekend.

UHC Hamburg host Harvestehuder THC on Thursday night, 8:30 pm. Both sides walk in off the Sunday when Hamburg hockey swept the board: UHC hammered Berliner HC 7-1, Harvestehuder blanked Münchner SC 5-0, and the city’s four top-flight clubs took all twelve points on offer between them.

Somebody’s week ends on Thursday.

The leaders play Saturday

Hamburger Polo Club sit top of the Bundesliga on 20 points, and their return round starts away to Club an der Alster on Saturday, 2:30 pm. Alster are sixth on 13, close enough to the play-off places to make this awkward, and a Hamburg away day is never the fixture a league leader orders.

Second-placed Rot-Weiss Köln (18 points) open on Friday night at home to Uhlenhorst Mülheim, who are down in ninth on 7 and need the return round to be a different season.

Saturday’s other games: Mannheimer HC, third on 17, travel to Münchner SC, who have four points and the league’s most urgent problems. TSV Mannheim host Berliner HC in a meeting of the sides on 13 and 6 points. And DSD Düsseldorf, bottom on 3, host Crefelder HTC, fourth on 15, at 3:30 pm.

The round at a glance (CEST):

• Thu 22 Oct, 20:30 — UHC Hamburg v Harvestehuder THC
• Fri 23 Oct, 19:30 — Rot-Weiss Köln v Uhlenhorst Mülheim
• Sat 24 Oct, 14:30 — Club an der Alster v Hamburger Polo Club
• Sat 24 Oct, 14:30 — Münchner SC v Mannheimer HC
• Sat 24 Oct, 14:30 — TSV Mannheim v Berliner HC
• Sat 24 Oct, 15:30 — DSD Düsseldorf v Crefelder HTC

Table: Hamburger Polo 20 pts · Rot-Weiss Köln 18 · Mannheimer HC 17 · Crefelder HTC 15 · UHC Hamburg 14 · Club an der Alster 13 · TSV Mannheim 13 · Harvestehuder THC 11 · Uhlenhorst Mülheim 7 · Berliner HC 6 · Münchner SC 4 · DSD Düsseldorf 3.

Our take

Polo are the side to catch, but Thursday is the tone-setter. UHC’s attack is the loudest thing in German hockey right now and Harvestehuder’s clean sheet says they won’t roll over. At home, under lights, UHC start favourites. The loser doesn’t just lose a derby, they start the Rückrunde chasing.