Prestigeduell in Schöneberg

The 2020/21 water polo season has only just begun, but for the third time in three weeks the two top German teams will duel on Wednesday. After the Cup and the national Supercup, Spandau 04 and Waspo Hannover will now clash in the Champions League.

While the national titles will almost certainly be shared between these two clubs again this season, the German participants in the Champions League are probably rather glaring outsiders. The current group stage is played in two pools with eight teams each. The top four in each group qualify for the Final 8 in Belgrade next spring.

The draw wanted Spandau and Waspo to play together in one group. Nevertheless, the prospects of reaching the final tournament are slim for both of them, because before the duel on the second match day between Spandau and Hannover, the prognosis rather goes in the direction that places six to eight are realistic. More would be a big surprise at the very least.

Both German participants lost their opening match in the Champions League. The Berliners lost 9:12 at Red Star Belgrade after a good game, while the Lower Saxons lost 7:13 at Jug Dubrovnik in Croatia.

Spandau – Statistics & current form

It’s been over 30 years since Spandau 04 were the leading team in Europe and won the Cup of the National Champions several times. In the meantime, the Berliners are only outsiders on international terrain. Petar Kovacevic’s team, for example, first had to play their way through the qualification process to reach the first group stage of the Champions League.

Super Cup winners Spandau

Every point could be important for Spandau. A win for the Berliners in the prestige duel against Waspo would be a very good step in the right direction. Already at Red Star Belgrade, Spandau showed that they don’t want to be cannon fodder in this season’s top division.

After the Champions League, the Supercup final against Hannover was on the agenda, which the Berliners won. Last weekend, the Pro A Bundesliga got underway. In the derby, the Orcas from Potsdam were guests at the Schöneberg swimming pool. The record champions did not give the underdogs a chance.

The Berliners won all four quarters and even went on a 10:0 run. In the end, it was a clear 24:8 victory that gave the capital city team the lead in the standings. The best Berliner was newcomer Dimitrios Nikolaides, who alone was responsible for seven goals and scored four goals in a row in the third quarter.

The Spandau squad:
Baksa – Nikolaides, Bozic, Cuk, Tkac, Jüngling, Strelelzkij, Dedovic, Stamm, Kholod, Restovic, Pericas, Sekulic – Coach: Kovacevic

Hannover – Statistics & current form

Waspo Hannover have outstripped their big rivals from the capital in recent years. Three of the four championships recently went to Lower Saxony. In addition, there are numerous titles in the cup and the Supercup. Waspo is probably the best German water polo team at the moment.

Revenge for the Supercup

It won’t be enough for international success, even though they played decently at Jug Dubrovnik in Croatia at the start, but the German champions can’t come close to the level of the top teams at European club level. All the more bitter that they recently had to give up a national title with the Supercup against Spandau.

Last weekend was the start of the new Bundesliga season for Waspo. ASC Duisburg was the guest at home and the Lower Saxons also won their opener very clearly. In the end, they won 18:9, which means second place behind their rivals from Berlin. Already now, another duel for the German championship is looming on the horizon.

Niclas Schipper and Philipp Kubisch earned top marks at the start of the season. Jörn Winkelhorst was the most successful scorer with three goals. However, coach Karsten Seehafer knows that the game at home against Duisburg is of a completely different calibre to what his team will be facing in the Champions League in Berlin on Wednesday. Accordingly, the odds on a clear win for the visitors at Spandau against Hannover are not to be recommended.

The Hannover squad:
Schenkel – Corusic, Schipper, Macan, Real, D. Brguljan, Radovic, Nagaev, Kubisch, M. Brguljan, Schütze, Winkelhorst, Rotermund – Coach: Seehafer

Spandau – Hannover Direct Comparison / H2H-Balance

For several years Waspo Hannover have overtaken Spandau and especially in the last five seasons have won significantly more titles than the record champions. This season alone there could be more than ten direct duels. In the last two years there have been numerous games in the play-offs for the championship.

In the last three weeks, the two teams have already played two duels. First there was the made-up cup final, which was postponed because of the pandemic. The Lower Saxons won that match. Last week, the Berliners then took revenge in a tough Super Cup final with a 13:12 win.

Spandau – Hannover Tip

Clear duels are rather rare when Spandau 04 and Waspo Hannover meet. For years, this has been a duel of equals in which the Lower Saxons have usually had the better end on their side. The season is still young and both teams have only played a few games. Therefore, it is not yet possible to say much about their form.

The fact is, however, that both teams played well away from home in the Balkans in the Champions League, but both went home with a defeat. In addition, both German top clubs won their opening match in the Bundesliga at the weekend. Sounds like you shouldn’t place a bet on a big handicap between Spandau and Hannover.

The two last faced each other in the made-up cup final and dueled in the Supercup last week. In the end, both teams won a title each. As a rule, Waspo has won more matches in recent years and that is why we are now also playing the betting odds on the prediction of a win for the visitors in the Spandau vs Hannover clash.