Courtesy: LEN
The three-stage qualifying process is
set to reach its climax in the coming days: the home-and- away legs of the four
play-off matches are scheduled for this Saturday and next Wednesday. The
winners will join the Champions League field.
Two in-house derbies give special
taste to this final round of the qualifications, though one of them, the
Croatian clash, may not bring the usual fierce battle. The transformation of
Mladost Zagreb may offer an easy ride for Jadran Split – at least their recent
match, where the team from Split beat their arch-rival 15-7 in the home league,
predicts a lop-sided contest. Indeed, Jadran had contracted Mladost’s top
scorers in the summer, leaving the other side to go for a restart with
youngsters.
The clash of the Hungarians differs
even though Szolnok lost its Serbian Olympic champions (like Filip Filipovic)
and legendary goalie Viktor Nagy (retired) who had been instrumental in winning
the Euro Cup and the domestic title. In both finals they defeated OSC, which
saw less changes in its line-up – still, Szolnok looks strong so far with the
new young talents they added.
Neither of the two Italian clubs can
take anything for granted in the other two pairs. The game of Savona and Zvezda
features the respective No. 3 teams of Italy and Serbia. The Italians arrived
at this stage in an awkward way: they played three straight draws in the
previous round but that was still enough to make the cut. The Serbs enjoyed a
fine cruise – both teams are a mix of young players and decorated veterans,
it’s a hard call to pick a favourite.
The chances of Brescia are definitely
better against CN Barcelona. The Italians produced their best-ever Champions
League run last season while reaching the semi-finals in the F8, and despite
losing a couple of key players, they still look strong. Last weekend they were
less convincing at some phases, but the beginning of the season is always
challenging and they may come up with a much compact performance this time –
though the Spaniards’ will put up some fight for sure.
Home sides are requested to provide
free live streaming of each game – fans are invited to join the show on the LEN
website:
Champions League, Qualification Round
III, 1st leg
18.30 Jadran Split (CRO) v HAVK
Mladost Zagreb (CRO)
18.30 Szolnoki Dozsa (HUN) v OSC
Budapest (HUN)
18.30 RN Savona (ITA) v VK Crvena
Zvezda (SRB)
19.00 CN Barcelona (ESP) v AN Brescia
(ITA)
2nd leg: 20 October
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