The top sixteen women’s water polo teams are getting ready for the battles of the Euro League preliminary round but by Sunday afternoon only eight will stay standing – and all four groups look quite balanced.

The field is to be halved and there might be some major casualties as the quartets look quite balanced and only the top two ranked sides will make the quarter-finals.

Last season’s runner-up Olympiacos faces three big matches in Piraeus as Group A features the 2018 LEN Trophy and Super Cup winner Dunaujvaros from Hungary and two Spanish sides, Mataro and Mediterrani, both strong and dangerous enough to cause upsets.

Title-holder Sabadell lost the Super Cup final to Orizzonte and it was visible that the Spanish team fielded a weakened line-up compared to the previous season. So even if they play at home, it’s going to be a challenging ride against LEN Trophy runner-up UVSE of Hungary, Italy’s emerging club Rome and the top Dutch team Utrecht.

Kinef Kirishi won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018, last season they missed the top flight for the first time in five years. Though they are usually stronger at home, the Russians still need to offer their best as Italy’s Padova and Greece’s Vouliagmeni showed last spring that they were at the top level (played for the bronze medal in the Final Four) and the Dutch are always a threat in women’s water polo even though Tetteroo is the underdog in this quartet.

Newly crowned Super Cup winner Orizzonte needs to prove its qualities once again as the Italians – topping the all-time ranks with 8 Euro League/Champions Cup triumphs – are to have three showdowns against rising Spanish club Sant Andreu, Russia’s ever powerful Uralochka and the No. 3 Hungarian side BVSC.

Euro League, Preliminaries

Group E (Athens)

Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE)

Dunaujvarosi Foiskola (HUN)

CN Mediterrani (ESP)

CN Mataro (ESP)

Group F (Sabadell)

Sabadell (ESP)

UVSE Budapest (HUN)

UZSC Utrecht (NED)

SIS Roma (ITA)

Group G (Kirishi)

Vouliagmeni (GRE)

Plebiscito Padova (ITA)

Kinef-Surgutneftegas Kirishi (RUS)

ZVL Tetteroo (NED)

Group H (Catania)

Orizzonte Catania (ITA)

Dynamo Uralochka (RUS)

Saint Andreu (ESP)

BVSC-Zuglo (HUN)

28 November 2019