Thick chunk in Schöneberg
There is a lot going on this weekend at the Schöneberg swimming pool. The women of Wasserfreunde Spandau are playing the LEN Europa League tournament in their own hall. In between, there is still the men’s Champions League when the Berliners meet Croatian representative Jug Dubrovnik on the third matchday. The water polo fans will get their money’s worth this weekend in Berlin.
Both teams are desperate to reach the Final 8. To do so, they have to finish in one of the top four places in the group of eight in the group phase. While that should be a realistic goal for the Croats, everything has to go right for Spandau to end up in the top half of the standings.
Jug Dubrovnik is currently in third place with three points after one win and one defeat and is therefore still on target. The Wasserfreunde, on the other hand, are only in sixth place after one defeat and one draw, and the forecast for the Spandau-Dubrovnik clash on the third matchday is clearly for an away win.
With a surprising home win the Berliners would still be in the thick of the action.
Spandau – Statistics & current form
With the Berliners, it actually becomes clear year after year that German water polo lags behind in international comparison. In Germany, there are basically only Waspo Hannover and Spandau 04 who are eligible for the titles. In the Champions League, meanwhile, it would be a great success to even reach the Final 8, i.e. the quarter-finals, so to speak.
National top – international need to catch up
After all, the first title of the new season is already in the bag. In the German Supercup, the Berliners prevailed against Hannover and they can’t complain in the Bundesliga either, because after two games they are on top with 4:0 points, even if the ranking is still a bit mixed up and not all teams have played the same number of games.
Last weekend Spandau 04 were guests of ASC Duisburg in the Bundesliga. The Berlin squirrel fed somewhat laboriously there and slowly built up the lead quarter by quarter. Petar Kovacevic’s team scored one goal in each quarter and in the end won 12:8 away from home.
On Saturday, however, a completely different task awaits. Perhaps the atmosphere in the Schöneberg swimming pool, where the focus is completely on water polo this weekend, will help. But we still don’t believe that the odds on a home win will help Spandau win against Dubrovnik.
The Spandau squad:
Baksa – Nikolaides, Bozic, Cuk, Tkac, Jüngling, Strelelzkij, Dedovic, Stamm, Kholod, Restovic, Pericas, Sekulic – Coach: Kovacevic
Dubrovnik – Statistics & current form
Jug Dubrovnik are not exactly considered one of the top favourites for the Champions League title by the best bookmakers. Yet the Croatians last won this competition in 2017. Coach Vjekoslav Kobescak continues to have a selection together that is quite capable of striving for the highest honours.
Star selection in Dubrovnik
With Maro Jokovic, Luka Fatovic or the three Greeks Alexandros Papanastasiou, Stylianos Argyropoulos and Konstantinos Kakaris, who won the silver medal at the Olympics in Tokyo, there are some stars in the ranks of the Croats. In the national league, Jug, together with leaders Jadran, have already pulled away. With six wins from six games, Dubrovnik is currently in second place.
In the Champions League, however, there was the first setback, which came very unexpectedly. After the opening win at home against Waspo Hannover (13:7), Jug conceded a clear 9:14 defeat against Marseille in their second home match. In view of the high expectations, Jug will be under more pressure than the hosts on Saturday in Berlin.
After all, the Croatians already got the frustration off their chest last weekend. They won 19:7 at home against Mornar in the Croatian league. This means that Vjekoslav Kobescak’s team have won seven of their eight competitive matches this season and therefore the forecast between Spandau and Dubrovnik must go to an away win at odds of 1.50.
The Dubrovnik squad:
Popadic – Vukojevic, Fatovic, Burdjelez, Jokovic, Papanastasiou, Tomasovic, Argyropoulos, Krzic, Kakaris, Benis, Zuvela, Vukojevic – Coach: Kobescak
Spandau – Dubrovnik Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
The letterhead of both clubs is lush with numerous titles. Both teams have won the Champions League and the European Cup four times each. In addition, there are numerous national titles. In terms of current quality, however, there is a bigger gap between these two teams. That’s why Spandau are big underdogs on Saturday.
The last encounters between these two teams clearly show this assumption. The last seven direct duels all went to the Croats. The last match between these two opponents was in March this year, also in the Champions League. At that time, however, the Croatians only narrowly won at home with 12:10.
Spandau – Dubrovnik tip
It would be important for Spandau to get a win on Saturday. With the two points that are awarded for a win in water polo, the Berliners would be back in business and would have shown that they are definitely an opponent to be taken seriously in the top division. However, it should be clear that the Wasserfreunde are clear outsiders against the Croats.
Dubrovnik has won six games in six in the Croatian league, which should already be much stronger than the German league, and has only lost once this season with the defeat against Marseille. Therefore, between Spandau and Dubrovnik, you should only be successful with a bet on a win for the visitors.
Furthermore, the Berliners have lost the last seven duels against Jug, sometimes by a large margin, sometimes by a narrow margin. Therefore, you should have the right nose when betting on a handicap. We don’t think it will be so lush on Saturday, but play the betting odds on a handicap win (-1.5) for the Croats between Spandau and Dubrovnik.
