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Leipzig shocked by a number of long-term absences

The home team achieved a very important win in their national championship against Buxtehuder. However, the win cost them a lot, they will be playing the rest of the group stage without their two line players, right back player and goalkeeper, who is also their team captain

Before their crucial game in the group stage of the Champions League, Leipzig paid a heavy price in their eight straight victory in an away game against their rival Buxtehuder. Line player Anne Muller and right back Anne Hubinger will miss the rest of the group games and as both are German national team players they will miss the EHF EURO 2014 qualification games against Russia next week. 

Anne Muller tore her medial collateral ligament and will be out for at least three to four months, which also means that she will probably miss the World Championship in Serbia. Left handed Hubinger broke her right hand during the last round and already had her surgery. The only silver lining is the fact her shooting arm wasn't hurt, but this will keep her out of play for several months as well.  

- This is a really tough situation after a costly victory. We have to stand even closer now with our team to manage the next few weeks - says coach Orneborg. 

Additionally, second line player Luisa Schule, also a member of the German squad, is out for eight weeks after a minor surgery and will also miss Leipzig’s next four European encounters. The fourth long-term absence is pregnant goalkeeper and team captain Katja Schulke who will probably be the last to return of the four players. 

- Tactically we will have to improvise a lot now, as we lack so many alternatives - adds Orneborg. 

This could already present a problem against the Swedish champions Savehof, who play quite strong and have a very potent offense. On the other hand, Leipzig is a foremost defensive team and they now face a great challenge because this segment of the game is far more difficult to train than the offense, and a lot of cross-play typical for the Swedes will not make their job easier. 

- If we were complete I would say our quality is equal, but now I have to admit we are not the favorites to win, although we are playing at home, which doesn't happen a lot - admitted the current captain Kudlacz and commented on their opponent:

- They have several excellent players like Roberts and Oden. They can play excellent handball, and can hit hard in defense, so we could have problems. The only thing which can help us in this situation are our supporters; we need them more than ever. 

At the end of his statement coach Orneborg complained about a very small possibility of rotating, and he is concerned because his key players in shooting positions are very young (some of them arrived this summer from junior to senior team). On the other hand, Savehov have a lot more experienced back players and they are probably aware only Kudlacz and S. Muller can give them problems from the 9-meter line. 

Experience proved crucial in Savehov's  last home game in the Champions League against Metz. Although they were trailing the French team by four at half time (15-19), Savehov managed to turn the game around and won by two goals. After that, they played a game against Karre in their national league where they had much more success than their today’s opponent. They won 35-22, and none of their players were injured. 

- We have earned two new points, but more importantly we could rotate a lot and rest a few players, who really needed it - coach Signell was satisfied at the end of the game, and commented on Leipzig:

- They play a very strong defense and it’s pretty clear what they want to achieve on the field.  They are a great team, who are tactically very strong. 

In accordance with his statement about the opponent, Signell thinks his team is the underdog and believes chances of winning are 60-40 in favor of Leipzig.  However, Signell  didn't comment on the injuries of the opponent, and it’s possible this is a tactical speech with which he only wishes to put more pressure on the opponent.  

- The most important thing for us is that each player gives 100% in the game. If we manage to do this, we will stand a chance for success - says Savehof’s coach and concludes optimistically:

- We are playing better and better in the Champions League each year. We can be satisfied because we have a lot of players who are prepared to make a step forward this season.  

The foreign media focus on three players: Oden, Roberts and Fogelstrom, but there are other Savehof players who played really well in the first two rounds in the group stage. Signell believes his team hasn't given their maximum yet and there is still room for improvement, which is one piece of information the Germans will not like. Their injuries are very serious, they came suddenly and coach Orneborg had only two days in order to prepare a completely new tactics  - it doesn't seem enough for this level of competition.  

Savehof scored more than 28 points in all matches this season; the only match where they scored less than 30 points was the one where they scored 28 and their opponent was Krim. If they had not made 5-6 technical fouls in this match they would have passed the margin of 30 points. So there should be no problems in surpassing this margin. Let's get back to Leipzig's defense. The hosts will be playing without two pivots (Muller, Schulze), the right back Hubinger and the veteran and captain of the team Schulke. It's hard to say which one is more important for the defense of the German team and another problem is that Leipzig have slim rotation options without them. It's clear it all depends on Kudlacz and S. Muller, which the guests might take advantage of to score easily. A solid alternative is Savehof over 25,5 in Marathon.