Austria’s top domestic ice hockey competition is warming up as the regular season enters its final phase and three teams are battling it out for top spot.

The 2017 champions Vienna Capitals are leading the way, and their performance has been a surprise to many. Indeed, at the start of the season, they were estimated to be one of the outsiders in the competition, according to the implied probabilities on the bigbetbookmakers.com site. But the Capitals have been thoroughly consistent so far, particularly at home, where they had won eight of their last ten going into the Round 39 of fixtures.

Chasing them hard are Graz99, who have all but secured their play-off place on the strength of some exciting attacking play, that has seen them score more goals than any team apart from Red Bull Salzburg. Graz have also dominated in the power play, where they are the most efficient team in the tournament, but they are being closely chased by EC KAC, who have hit top form in January. The 2013 champions won four in a row going into Round 39 and still pose a threat to the top two.

Red Bull Salzburg, who have dominated this competition in recent seasons, winning seven of the last ten editions, were once again rated among the favourites at the start of the season, but they haven’t made their usual impact on the competition and are trailing the leaders in fourth. In fact, Salzburg are in danger of ending the season with nothing to show for their efforts after they failed to reach the final of the Champions League, going out to Red Bull Munich in the semi-final.

Italian side HCB are faring the best of the non-Austrian teams and they are close behind Salzburg with a cushion ahead of the Hungarians Fehervar in sixth. HCB are in good form, but so are their Hungarian rivals, who have forced their way into the top six with a string of solid performances.

Linz Blackwings and Dornbirn Bulldogs are also still in contention for a play-off spot, but Linz have hit a patch of bad form at the wrong time, losing four in a row and struggling on their home ice, where they’ve recorded a string of five consecutive defeats that led to them slipping out of the top six. The Bulldogs appear to have a better chance of breaking into the play-off places, particularly if Brendan O’Donnell can continue his strong goalscoring form. The Canadian has found the net 26 times so far this season, to lead the league, and his contributions will be key to Dornbirn’s play-off chances.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, there appears to be little hope for Medveskak Zagreb. Going into Round 39, the Bears had lost an astonishing nineteen games in a row, including a humiliating 13-0 thrashing by Vienna and were nine points adrift at the bottom. Panaceo VSV are also struggling, thanks to a lack of goals and a poor record against the power play.

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With just under two-thirds of the season played, the Hockey Allsvenskan is shaping up to be a duel between IK Oskarshamn and AIK. Oskarshamn are on 76 points, four points clear of AIK, who, according to the implied probabilities on the bigbetbookmakers.com site, were regarded as second favourites to top the league before the season started.

AIK have been powered by the goals of Sebastian Dyk and Nicolai Meyer, who are first and second in the Scoring Leader charts. Both have scored 19 times and Meyer has also contributed 23 assists. But Oskarshamn have matched AIK for goal scoring and have benefitted from a significantly stronger defence, conceding just 67 goals, a figure that is 13 better than AIK. Their strong defensive record is down largely to the efforts of goaltenders Cristoffer Rifalk and Adam Ahman, who occupy second and third spot in the Hockey Allsvenskan goalkeeper chart with save percentages greater than 93.

And although Oskarshamn were regarded as the eighth favourites according to the pre-season betting odds, they have shown no sign of wilting under the pressure of being in front, winning six games in a row to maintain their lead at the top of the table.

The latest of those wins came against Vasteras, who are back in fourth after a poor run of form that has seen them lose their last four away games and while they are still in a good position to earn a play-off spot, their slim hopes of catching the front runners will depend on them finding improvement away from home. Third-placed Karlskoga also face an uphill struggle to catch the front two and a heavy defeat to Leksands in the middle of January has not helped their cause.

That was a welcome win for the pre-season favourites, who have struggled to match expectations and are currently hanging on to the last playoff spot in eighth position. Their prospects are not helped by the absence of Tobias Forsberg, who suffered a horrific injury against Almtuna in December. Forsberg was taken to hospital by helicopter ambulance and had to undergo surgery on his neck. He is recovering from the ordeal, which is good news, but Leksands are weaker without him.

They also face a tough challenge from five teams with play-off ambitions, all within six points, the closest of which are Vastervik who they meet in the middle of the month. The 1987 Swedish champions Bjorkloven are also in touch with eighth place but they have endured a poor run of form this month, and eleventh-placed Pantern can’t be written off following a string of victories earlier in January. And the same might be said for bottom team Vita Hasten. The gap between them and Almtuna is into double figures, but after a nightmare first half of the season, they have given their fans something to cheer about with wins over Bjorkloven and Sodertalje.

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After six consecutive seasons of Bayern Munich domination, it looks as though the Bundesliga has finally produced a new narrative, with the resurgence of Borussia Dortmund.

Last season was a mere procession. Despite parting company with coach Carlo Ancelotti in September, Bayern strolled to the Bundesliga title, losing just four times along the way, finishing with a 21 points lead over second-placed Schalke, while Dortmund trailed in fourth, eight points back from Schalke and behind Hoffenheim on goal difference.

But eight months on and the Bundesliga table tells a very different story. Under new manager Lucien Favre, Dortmund have set the early pace, leaving Bayern six points behind, with their new boss Niko Kovac under immense pressure to close the gap.

Dortmund topped the table at the end of September, with a 4-2 win at Bayer Leverkeusen and have remained there ever since. A run of six consecutive victories came to an end with a surprise defeat at Dusseldorf, but they won their final game before the winter break against third-placed Borussia Monchengladbach to maintain their lead. Marco Reus has scored eleven times for Dortmund, while Spanish forward Paco Alcacer shares the top goal-scorer podium with twelve and they’ve helped Favre’s team to record an impressive 44 goals at the half-way stage.

For Bayern, this has been a chastening season so far. Going into the winter break, they had already lost three games and were only three points clear of Borussia Monchengladbach. They started the season brightly, winning their first four games, and even after drawing with FC Augsberg on September 25, they were still top of the table. But three defeats in six games, including a crucial 3-2 loss in Dortmund saw them toppled from their perch and blew the Bundesliga wide open.

Bayern are not to be underestimated. They were overwhelming favourites to win the title at the start of the season, based on the implied probabilities displayed at the bigbetbookmakers.com site, and they have improved following that Dortmund defeat, embarking on a six game winning streak, during which they’ve only conceded once. Still, they have plenty of work to do if they are to catch the league leaders and their home tie against Dortmund on April 6 could be crucial.

The champions’ slump has given encouragement to some of the other Bundesliga contenders who are usually resigned to battling for European qualification places. Borussia Monchengladbach have been in contention throughout, although they need to improve their away performances if they are to put Bayern and Dortmund under pressure. Red Bull Leipzig have also struggled on the road, but they have recovered from a slow start to the campaign and their league-leading defence, which has only conceded 17 goals so far, will keep them in contention.

At the other end of the table, Hannover have struggled, winning just two games so far, along with newly-promoted Nurnberg, who are without a win since September and have conceded 38 goals. Stuttgart are also in the relegation zone, but three wins in seven games going into the winter break have given Stuttgart fans hope that their team will be able to save themselves in 2019.

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With around three-quarters of the season gone, Adler Mannheim continue to set the pace in the German Ice Hockey League and have opened up a nine-point lead at the top of the table.

Mannheim, who finished fifth last year before exiting the play-offs at the quarter-final stage, are estimated as second favourites to win the tournament behind EHC Munchen, according to the implied probabilities on the bigbetbookmakers.com site, but they have turned the tables on their rivals and are not yet showing any signs of weakening, with an impressive six-game winning streak.

After winning the title for three years in a row, the pre-season favourites EHC Munchen have not had things their own way this time. Munchen have lost six out of nineteen games at home so far, including both matches against the current league leaders, although they did manage to win in Mannheim. With a seven point lead over Dusseldorf EG and a fifteen point game back to seventh place, Munchen have nothing to worry about in terms of making the play-offs, and they will be hoping that their greater experience at the business end of the tournament will give them the edge.

Dusseldorf have a five point cushion but behind them, the battle for play-off spots looks tight, with four teams separated by just a handful of points. Straubing Tigers appear to be falling out of contention for a top six place after losing their form, so at the moment it looks like being a four-team race for the last three play-off spots between Bremerhaven Penguins, Augsburger Panthers, Kolner Haie and ERC Ingolstadt. Of the four, Bremerhaven look to be in the best form, and they’ve been particularly effective away from home in the second half of the season, but there sure to be plenty of twists and turns in the play-off race before we get to March.

At the other end of the table, Grizzlies Wolfsburg appear to have turned a corner after a run of six consecutive defeats left them at the bottom of the table. A crucial win over Polar Bears Berlin moved them two places higher although they still have a lot of work to do to overcome a thirteen point gap behind the teams that are currently in the Pre-Play Off places.

The Ice Tigers have more of a chance of making the top ten and a crucial win over the Krefeld Penguins closed the gap between the two teams to seven points. The Ice Tigers also have two games in hand, and Krefeld will be looking over their shoulders for the remainder of the season.

Meanwhile, there seems no end to the struggles of Iserlohn. The Roosters have lost ten games in a row to sink to bottom spot and with the Schwenninger Wild Wings also finding some form in December and January, the pressure is on Jamie Bartman to stop the rot.

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Two teams dominated the EHF Championship going into 2019 but there is a long way to go before the outcome of this season’s competition is determined.

After Round Ten the tournament took a two month break and will resume in February, with the final four rounds of matches taking place in Groups A and B, while the top two teams from Groups C and D will compete in the play-off round for a place in the knock-out round.

One of the four play-off teams is Bjerringbro-Silkeborg’s who left it late to confirm their spot. Going into Round Ten, they were not assured of a place, but a narrow 29-28 win over the already-qualified Sporting CP was enough to life them to second in Group C, and delight their home fans.

The other big story out of Groups C and D was the progress of Dinamo Bucuresti. Like Bjerringbro-Silkeborg, they were not sure of a play-off place going into their last game, but a 33-29 win over Wacker Thun was enough to take them through, qualifying for the play-off round for the first time in the club’s history, and doing it in style, by edging out Wisla Plock at the top of Group D.

PSG’s strong performance at the top of Group B has made them the favourites to win the competition, according to the implied probabilities detailed on the bigbetbookmakers.com site, but Barcelona have also been grabbing the headlines with a superb run of nine consecutive wins going into the break. Barca have passed the 40 mark three times this season and have scored 31 more goals than PSG as they have established a five point lead at the top of Group A and if they pick up in this kind of form in February, their record twelve-game winning streak may be beaten this season.

Barcelona’s closest challengers Vardar have enjoyed a rollercoaster ten games, making a strong start before slumping, winning only one out of five. But the Macedonian team scored an important victory in Round Ten, beating PGE Vive Kielce 28-27, and this was enough to move them up to second in the Group A table, though they are unlikely to catch the Catalan pace-setters.

And HC PPD Zagreb also went into the break with some momentum behind them. They went into Round Ten in bottom spot but they provided a fitting send off for head coach Lino Cervar, who left the club at the end of 2018, by beating HC Motor Zaporozhye 27-25. To underline how tightly-matched Group B is, that win was enough to move Zagreb up into fifth position, and with tough away games against PSG and Pick Szeged still to come, it was a timely victory.

Of the other notable teams still in contention, last year’s beaten finalists HBC Nantes trail PSG by 9 points in Group B. The French team are in fourth place, but three of their last four games are against opponents currently in the top three so they have a lot of work to do to secure a Round of 16 spot.

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