Clash of champions in Kragujevac

The Premier VRL League continues at a fast pace this week, with two rounds being played, as last weekend.

The 12-game series in Rounds 4 and 5 begins on Wednesday. The games involving Radnicki and Jadran m:tel, which will start their Champions League campaigns next Tuesday, have been rescheduled.

The Serbian and Montenegrin champions will meet in the round’s most anticipated match. Kragujevac-based team will host Jadran on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

Both teams are unbeaten, but Radnicki has nevertheless made the stronger impression. In one of last weekend’s derbies, after a poor start, it demolished Sabac 19:10. Jadran has faced far less demanding opponents. In their previous two matches, Jadran players scored 55 goals and conceded just 14. However, games against Vojvodina and Zemun Vrdnik Residence are not a true measure of the current capabilities of the Montenegrin champions.

Last season, Jadran was the only team to take away points from Kragujevac, beating Radnicki on penalties (14:12), but Radnicki responded with a convincing 21:13 victory in Herceg Novi. Since then, Jadran has changed half of its squad, while Radnicki has retained all of its key players and strengthened further. Jadran’s revamped squad will show it is ready to challenge the favorite. For both clubs, Wednesday’s derby will be an excellent test ahead of the start of their Champions League campaigns.

The rescheduling of Jadran’s matches has also brought Buducnost One to Serbia earlier. The Podgorica side will visit Nais on Wednesday. The Nis-based team pushed Sabac Elixir hard on Sunday, so if it can produce a similar performance against Buducnost, an interesting contest could be in store.

Nais will host Jadran on Friday, while Budućnost will face Radnicki in Kragujevac in Round 5.

Apart from the derby in Kragujevac, important matches will be played at the pool in Sabac.

Sabac Elixir will host Primorac on Friday and Budva Budvanska Rivijera on Sunday. No team finds it easy to collect points in Sabac. But the home side has been inconsistent during the first three rounds. Budva and Kotor have also produced performances of a similar level so far. All three teams have regular members of the Montenegrin national teams in their squads, as well as players who have won medals with the Serbian national team, including Olympic champion Nemanja Ubovic, Primorac’s signing this summer. Sabac’s home pool is an advantage, but either result is possible in both matches, as the three teams appear to be of similar quality.

The third Premier League side competing in the Champions League, Novi Beograd Tehnomanija, will host Vojvodina and Zemun Vrdnik Residence as part of its preparations for an away game against European champions Barceloneta. The likely winners of these matches are clear. The only question is the margin of victory, which will largely depend on whether head coach Zoran Bajic fields his strongest lineup against Vojvodina and Zemun or rests some of his key players after a run of six mostly demanding matches.

Partizan, which made a very positive impression in its very challenging schedule last week, has a good opportunity to claim its first victories, in home games against Vojvodina and Zemun.

Valis Vega will face the same opponents at home as Sabac — Budva and Primorac.

2027 Premier VRL League, Round 4

Wednesday, Septembar 30

Radnički – Jadran m:tel at 20.00

Nais – Budućnost One ar 20.00

Friday, October 2

Valis Vega – Budućnost Budvanska rivijera at 18:00

Partizan – Zemun Vrdnik Residence u 19:00

Šabac Elixir – Primorac u 20:00

Novi Beograd Tehnomanija – Vojvodina u 20:00

Round 5

Friday, October 2

Radnički – Budućnost One at 18:00

Nais – Jadran m:tel at 20:00

Sunday, October 4

Valis Vega – Primorac at 18:00

Partizan – Vojvodina at 19:00

Novi Beograd Tehnomanija – Zemun Vrdnik Residence at 19:45

Šabac Elixir – Budva Budvanska rivijera at 20:00

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