National derbies will determine the finalists of the Euro Cup this year: the Spanish clash between Barcelona and Sabadell should offer the same thrills as the Italian semi-final featuring Palermo and Ortigia. Moreover, it’s not just in-house battles, the teams are neighbours, a bus ride will do to visit each other’s pools in the semi-final legs. So it’s a Catalonian and a Sicilian clash which adds more flavours to these already mouthwatering matchups.
Two months ago, Barcelona beat
Sabadell 9-8 on Day 8 in the Spanish league so it’s a hard call to pick a
favourite. The Italians met on Day 10 – early December – and Palermo downed
Ortigia 11-9, but again, these two are on level for sure, they both stand with
25 points in the domestic championship.
Among the four sides, Barcelona won
this competition twice, in 1995 and 2004 (as LEN Trophy) while Sabadell reached
the final in the first year when it was named Euro Cup, in 2005. While Italy is
by far the most successful nation in this series with 10 wins and 10 runner-up
finishes, amassed by 10 different clubs, neither of the two Sicilian sides has
ever made the final. Ortigia reached the semis in 2019 but was badly beaten by eventual
winner Marseille in both legs.
nd leg: 9 February
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