Novi Beograd faces tough challenge in Zagreb, Radnički to play against Herceg Novi on Monday
The water polo team of Novi Beograd is playing excellently this season, stacking up victories both regionally and on the European stage. They have secured a place in the Champions League quarterfinals, recently won the Serbian Cup, and after eight rounds in the Premier Regional League, Živko Gocić's team is leading with all eight wins.
In the ninth round, Novi Beograd will visit Mladost in Zagreb tonight at 8:30 PM, which will be a tough test for Gocić's team since they will be without the injured Angelos Vlahopoulos, while Mladost is just five points behind.
The match between Šabac and Valis will start at 7:00 PM, followed by Red Star and Primorac in Belgrade an hour later. Today's matches also include Primorje vs. Jug, and Solaris vs. Jadran Split, while in the last match of this round, on Monday at 7:00 PM in Kragujevac, Radnički will play against Jadran from Herceg Novi.
– We are facing one of the toughest and certainly one of the most important matches so far – started Novi Beograd's coach Živko Gocić at the press conference before this match, adding:
– Mladost has significantly improved and plays much better since Igor Milanović took over as coach. They have many quality players in every position. They have built a respectable team, bringing back many Croatian national team players, and we can expect a tough match. However, as in every game so far, we will strive to give our maximum and win. We have come to Zagreb with winning ambitions. We certainly have great respect for the Mladost team, but we believe we have our chances in this match. If we play as we know and can, I think we can hope for a favorable result – Gocić concluded.
Novi Beograd's strategist will be without Angelos Vlahopoulos due to injury in this match, but the young Strahinja Krstić is returning to the team.
– He did not travel with us to Germany due to a stomach virus issue, but he has joined the team and will be ready for the match against the people of Zagreb – Gocić stated.
Croatian national team player from Mladost, Matias Biljaka, said before this encounter:
– This is one of the best teams in the entire Premier League. We are playing at home, so it is an extra obligation to play the best we can and beat them. We have been preparing for them since before our last European match against Duisburg on Thursday. It would be important for us to get three points from this match. We are doing well in the Premier League, but against such strong teams, we must win at home. Of course, we also want to win away, but there is an even greater obligation at our pool.
