There are crucial clashes in Marseille and Savona this week as the teams on three points after two rounds face off both in Group A and Group B in the men’s Champions League Quarter Final Stage. CN Marseille meet Olympiacos SFP, while RN Savona take on Zodiac CNAB, and the respective winners will take a huge step towards the Final Four.
Group A
Tuesday 18th March 2025
(CET times shown)
Standings: 1. NBG 6, 2. Marseille 3, 2. Olympiacos 3, 4. Jadran 0
20.00 VK Novi Beograd (SRB) v VK Jadran Split (CRO)
Previous results:
NBG: 15-14 Marseille (home), 8-5 Olympiacos (away)
JAD: 11-12 Olympiacos (home), 9-11 Marseille (away)
Head-to-head (CL): 4-0
2023-24, QF: 15-11, 15-10. 2021-22: 17-12, 14-7
Novi Beograd’s brilliant win in Piraeus three weeks ago saw them take a giant step towards the Final Four. However, to back up that defensive masterpiece – holding the Greek champions to five goals in their home pool – the Serbians need to do what they have always achieved in the Champions League, beat Jadran in Belgrade.
These two sides know each other well, as besides the European stage, they frequently clash in the Regional League. NBG are also dominating in that competition, and in the last few years they’ve built a 5-1 advantage, though this season both their encounters ended in a shootout.
The Serbians took two points in both, but this shows that the fans might witness another tight contest on Tuesday night, where the Croatians will go all-in, as a third straight defeat may rule them out in the hunt for the Final Four berths.
20.00 CN Marseille (FRA) v Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE)
Previous results:
MAR: 14-15 NBG (away), 11-9 Jadran (home)
OLY: 12-11 Jadran (away), 5-8 NBG (home)
Head-to-head: 1-2
2020-21: 9-8, 7-11, 12-13 (F8, 7-8th place)
Since both teams fell to Novi Beograd in the previous rounds, this encounter is absolutely crucial. The winner shall have a huge advantage, and we all know that Marseille can pose a serious threat to any team visiting their noisy home.
Olympiacos will look to continue their great away form and show their power on the road once again, just as they did in the Group Stage. Three wins in as many matches sent them through after a couple of shaky performances at home – and that trend has returned so far in the quarters.
They beat Jadran in Split, then crashed against Novi Beograd in front of their enthusiastic fans. Now they travel to Marseille and this is going to be a new experience for the Greeks, as the matches they played in the 2020-2021 season were all held in neutral venues (due to the Covid restrictions, the entire group stage was played in Rome, and the F8 in Belgrade).
Group B
Wednesday 19th March 2025
(CET times shown)
Standings: 1. FTC 6, 2. CNAB 3, 2. Savona 3, 4. Oradea 0
20.00 RN Savona (ITA) v Zodiac CNAB (ESP)
Previous results:
SAV: 17-11 Oradea (away), 9-17 FTC (home)
CNAB: 10-18 FTC (away), 17-4 Oradea (home)
Head-to-head: Never met in CL
Similarly to the match in Marseille, this clash in Savona has a lot at stake. Both teams beat Oradea and lost to Ferencvaros – so it’s clear that the second qualifying spot will be largely determined by the outcome of this duel.
Barceloneta are definitely stronger, but the Spaniards’ recent crash in Budapest showed that sometimes even their tremendous quality may not prevail. Ever since that terrible beating, CNAB returned to winning ways, though, as they lifted the Spanish cup and have defeated all their rivals in the domestic league with ease.
Savona battled themselves through some tough resistance to reach the Italian Cup final last weekend, but fell to Recco in a difficult battle. In the group stage, they learnt some Spanish lessons after losing to Sabadell at home, but they took revenge in the away match with a shootout win, which ultimately sent them through.
Still, in this game, Barceloneta are the favourites and any other outcome would be an upset.
20.00 CSM Oradea (ROU) v FTC-Telekom (HUN)
Previous results:
ORA: 11-17 Savona (home), 4-17 CNAB (away)
FTC: 18-10 CNAB (home), 17-9 Savona (away)
Head-to-head: Never met in CL.
2017 Euro Cup final: 6-12, 7-7
All credit goes to Oradea for making this round, as they defied all the odds. However, if there is a fixture in this round where no one gives one side the slimmest chance for a win, this is the match.
The mighty Ferencvaros – the title holders – come to visit the surprise side after demolishing Barceloneta first, then Savona, both by eight goals. As of today, their winning streak stands at 37-0 across all competitions this season and it’s hard to see it coming to an end on Wednesday. In contrast, Oradea conceded 17 goals in each of their previous two games against opponents Fradi soundly beat.
Still, the game should be a spectacle for the water polo loving locals, many of whom belong to the local Magyar minority as Oradea sits only a couple of kilometres from the Hungarian-Romanian border.
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