Hard away trip for the Wasserfreunde
For decades, Spandau 04 has been one of the figureheads of German water polo. It would be a surprise if the Berliners were to make it to the Final 8 in Belgrade. To do so, they have to secure one of the first four places in a difficult group of eight.
After three match days, the Wasserfreunde have only one point on their account. That is only enough for seventh place at the moment. Fourth place is already five points away. It’s time to catch up, but on Wednesday Spandau have the most difficult group game ahead of them, as the Berliners take on Pro Recco, perhaps the best club team in the world at the moment.
The Italians are the defending Champions League champions and have not shown any weakness at the moment. With three wins and nine points as well as a goal difference of +30, they are in first place. It sounds as if a clear home win is the only alternative in the match between Pro Recco and Spandau.
While other teams are fighting for fourth place, the group stage is only a transit stop for the Biancocelesti. For the defending champions, the top flight doesn’t really start until the Final 8. This means that we would not even place a bet on an away win in the match between Pro Recco and Spandau with a sports betting bonus.
Pro Recco – Statistics & current form
The Pro Recco team is not invulnerable, but almost so. Currently, the Italians are only national runners-up because they were defeated by Brescia in the final of a tight play-off. But that was five months ago and perhaps it was this defeat in the final that gave Sandro Sukno’s team a new lease of life.
Mega series of the defending champions
Since then Pro Recco is undefeated. In the last 15 games they celebrated 15 victories. In the Champions League, the Biancocelesti are first and also in the Italian league, they are at the top of the standings with nine wins without a loss. This club is extremely difficult to beat at the moment and therefore the task for Spandau seems to be insurmountable.
Last weekend Pro Recco got a clear 15:5 home win against Telimar in the Italian A1. The goal difference is 136:49, which means that they win the games with an average difference of nine to ten goals and therefore one should examine the odds for a corresponding handicap victory in the duel between Pro Recco and Spandau.
Although the Italians have been doing exceptionally well so far this season, Pro Recco are baking small rolls and see themselves continuing to develop. When the competition hears that, it’s enough to give you the heebie-jeebies. Development or not – on Wednesday they will be aiming for a clear home victory against the German record champions.
The Pro Recco squad:
del Lungo, Negro – di Fulvio, Zalanki, Marini, Younger, Bertoli, Presciutti, Echenique, Cannella, Velotto, Loncar, Hallock – Coach: Sukno
Germany Spandau – Statistics & current form
Spandau 04 still have a team that can achieve anything at national level, although Waspo Hannover have outclassed the Wasserfreunde in recent years. In the Champions League, it’s hard to put the stamp of “competitive” on the Berliners at the moment. It’s a Herculean task to progress in the top division.
Top of the Bundesliga
At least things are going better in the Pro A Bundesliga. However, with the exception of Hannover, there is no team there that can even come close to holding a candle to Spandau. So last weekend the Berliners had to play the top game at the promoted Ludwigsburg. The Ludwigsburg team had previously won two games.
Against the Wasserfunde, however, they were clearly shown their limits. Spandau won 16:5 without any major problems. Dmitri Kholod was the record champion’s most successful shooter with four goals. However, it is two different things whether you play in Ludwigsburg in the Bundesliga or in the Champions League with Pro Recco. After all, the Berliners have only conceded one defeat in their last five games.
Nevertheless, Petar Kovacevic’s team will have to improve considerably on Wednesday to avoid a debacle. However, the hope remains that the Italians will perhaps not play with the necessary seriousness over all quarters and so we think it is possible to make a prediction on a Berlin handicap victory (+8.5) between Pro Recco and Spandau.
The Spandau squad:
Benes – Vernet Schweimer – Nikolaides, Chiru, Cuk, Tkac, Jüngling, Strelezkij, Dedovic, Stamm, Kholod, Restovic, Sekulic – Coach: Kovacevic
Pro Recco – Spandau Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
Only four times have Spandau 04 had the honour of facing the Pro Recco team in the pool. Unsurprisingly, the Italians have won all of those four games. In the home games, however, Spandau kept up well twice and lost with a difference of one and three goals.
It became bitter, however, when they had to play in Italy. In 2018, Pro Recco won 12:4, while last December there was a clear 19:6 home victory for the Biancocelesti. So the Berliners will have to be careful not to go into double-digit defeat territory again on Wednesday.
Pro Recco – Spandau Tip
Pro Recco is currently the super team in international water polo. That’s why the bookmakers are only offering odds of 1.01 on a home win in Wednesday’s clash against Spandau. Even with a Bwin voucher, it is not worth playing these odds. Even in the combination it makes no sense.
That there will be a home win, however, seems only logical after 15 consecutive victories for the Italians. The question is how high the handicap is and how many goals will be scored, because at least in these areas a decent bet can be placed. If the home side means well for the Berliners, then a tip on a high handicap win (+8.5) for the German record champions could actually fit between Pro Recco and Spandau.
But we think the best bet in this match is a tip on over-goals. The reigning Champions League winner is always capable of scoring 15 goals. If the Wasserfreunde only add eight goals, then that could be enough and that is why we have decided to play the betting odds on more than 22.5 goals between Pro Recco and Spandau.
