Just two days after the opening round of the Premier League was completed, the competition continues, with 12 matches to be played over three days.
The first “double round” of the season is on the way this weekend, with several more to follow. The second round will be played on Friday, followed by the third round on Saturday and Sunday.
Four Montenegrin clubs will welcome three rivals from Belgrade,Novi Beograd, Partizan, and Zemun, as well as Vojvodina Novi Sad. The other four games of the weekend will be played in Kragujevac and Nis.
The spotlight will be on Budva and Kotor. On Friday, Budva will host Partizan, while Novi Beograd will travel to Kotor to take on Primorac. On Sunday, Novi Beograd will face Budva, while Partizan will visit Primorac.
Having successfully ended the Champions League qualifying tournament last weekend, Novi Beograd enters both games as a slight favorite.
But Friday’s match against Primorac will be Novi Beograd’s fifth in just eight days, with a significant amount of travel packed into that schedule.
Primorac, by contrast, have spent the past few days preparing specifically for the start of the Premier League. The Kotor-based campaign got under way on Wednesday with a difficult encounter against Budva. A heavy home defeat does little to boost confidence in Kotor, but the game will at least have given Primorac a clear picture of what it needs to improve before facing the Serbian runners-up.
A packed schedule, constant travel and limited time on the training ground are nothing new in modern sport, and water polo is no exception. In such circumstances, fatigue can become a decisive factor, potentially giving the fresher side the edge — even when that team enters the game as the underdog.
Novi Beograd defeated Primorac 11:7 two weeks ago at the “Vlaho Bata Orlić” tournament in Belgrade, producing an impressive defensive display. However, a friendly tournament game can only tell us so much, and it would be unwise to read too much into that result ahead of a competitive fixture.
Photo by Filip Roganović
The matches between Partizan and the two Montenegrin sides could be just as intriguing. Budva and Primorac will start as the favorites, but Partizan sent a strong message on Tuesday with an excellent performance against Novi Beograd. Partizan’s display highlighted the progress the team has made compared with last season.
Partizan’s first test will come against Budva. Like Novi Beograd, Budva participated in Champions League qualifying, although its campaign wasn’t successful. It also has had a demanding schedule to contend with, but a convincing win over Primorac in Kotor gave the team confidence.
Partizan, meanwhile, are unlikely to lack either courage or motivation. It showed against Novi Beograd that it’s ready to compete with the leading sides, and neither Budva nor Primorac can expect an easy ride against the black-and-whites.
Jadran and Buducnost will host Vojvodina and Zemun. Anything other than victories for the Montenegrin sides would be considered a surprise.
Among the matches in Serbia, Friday’s clash in Kragujevac between Radnicki and Sabac stands out as one of the weekend’s highlights.
The reigning champions will start as favorites in this Serbian derby — a status that applies to virtually all of Radnički’s VRL League fixtures this season, particularly those played at home. Radnički have retained all of their key players and strengthened the squad further, while their recent record against Šabac in Kragujevac has been highly convincing.
Still, Šabac have the experience and quality to cause trouble for the champions. They came close to pulling off a major upset against Radnički once last season.
Radnički will then face Valis at home. Nais will host Sabac and Valis.
2026/27 Premier VRL League, Rounds 2 and 3
Friday, September 25
Primorac – Novi Beograd Tehnomanija at 18:00
Radnički – Šabac Elixir 18:30
Budućnost One – Zemun Vrdnik Residence 19:00
Budva Budvanska Rivijera – Partizan at 19:00
Jadran m:tel – Vojvodina at 19:00
Nais – Valis Vega at 20:00
Saturday, September 26
Radnički – Valis Vega at 20
Sunday, September 27
Budućnost One – Vojvodina at 18:00
Budva BR – Novi Beograd Tehnomanija at 18:30
Jadran m:tel – Zemun Vrdnik Residence at 19:00
Primorac – Partizan at 20:00
Nais – Šabac Elixir at 20:00
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: total-waterpolo.com
