A few weeks on from an intriguing Qualification round, the 2022 Women’s Euro League returns this weekend with the ‘Main Round’ – the Prelims. Hosted in four of Europe’s top water polo destinations (Sabadell, Athens, Budapest and Padova), Sixteen teams are hoping to qualify for just Eight places in the knock-out stages of Europe’s premier club competition.
All the teams in a group will play each other once – with the top two teams in each group progressing to the quarter-finals. The full schedule of fixtures can be seen at the bottom of this page, as well as the current top goal-scorers in the competition.
Photo: Ekipe Orizzonte
Groups
The Preliminary Round this year looks as exciting as ever, with top quality clashes on show everywhere you look.
Group E (Sabadell) – Dunaujvaros (HUN), Astralpool Sabadell (ESP), CN Mataro (ESP), FTC Telekom Budapest (HUN)
Group F (Athens) – Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE), SIS Roma (ITA), CN Terrassa (ESP), Ethnikos Piraeus (GRE)
Group G (Budapest) – UVSE (HUN), Dynamo Uralochka (RUS), Orizzonte Catania (ITA), Vouliagmeni NC (GRE)
Group H (Padova) – KINEF Kirishi (RUS), Plebiscito Padova (ITA), CE Mediterrani (ESP), NC Glyfada (GRE)
In Group E (being hosted in Spain), all eyes are on that fixture between the two Spanish clubs, Sabadell and Mataro, on Sunday Afternoon. Both are bitter rivals, and are pushing each other to the limit in the Spanish domestic league. Adding last-season’s Euro-League Runners-up, Dunaujvaros, to the mix, as well as Ferencvaros (who beat Dunaujvaros last week in the OB I) means nothing is guaranteed for any of the teams.
Photo: Dunaujvaros
Meanwhile, Group F also has a huge derby on Sunday in Athens between the two sides from Piraeus – Olympiacos and Ethnikos. The reigning champions, Olympiacos, added considerably in the summer transfer market, but Ethnikos also conducted some big business of their own. They will both have to step carefully though as the form side from the qualifiers, SIS Roma, look a tough assignment for any club in Europe, as may CN Terrassa – who can make their mark in any match.
Budapest is the stage for Group G where we finally get to take a look at the hosts, UVSE. They are so far unbeaten this season, but will face stern opposition from the side they deprived of third place in the Euro League last season. Orizzonte, the most decorated club in the competitions history, looked very respectable in the qualifiers, as did two-time winners NC Vouliagmeni. Both will hope they can cause an upset and make the next round at the expense of last-seasons semi-finalists.
Photo: LEN
And lastly, away in Group H being held in Padova, we see the introduction of last seasons Super Cup winners, KINEF Kirishi. They’ll no doubt be very wary of the quality that the host team, Plebiscito Padova, possess – who secured that fantastic win over Mataro in qualifying. Mediterrani and Glyfada – who are both fourth in their respective leagues, will be out to show they can compete with the continents finest.
Fixtures
10 December, 2021
18:00 – Group G – UVSE vs NC Vouliagmeni
18:00 – Group H – Kinef Kirishi vs NC Glyfada
18:30 – Group F – Olympiacos Piraeus vs CN Terrassa
19:00 – Group E – Astralpool Sabadell vs FTC Telekom Budapest
20:00 – Group G – Ekipe Orizzonte vs Dynamo Uralochka
20:00 – Group H – Plebiscito Padova vs CE Mediterrani
20:15 – Group F – Ethnikos Piraeus vs SIS Roma
20:45 – Group E – Dunaujvaros vs CN Mataro
11 December, 2021
11:00 – Group E – CN Mataro vs FTC Telekom Budapest
12:45 – Group E – Astralpool Sabadell vs Dunaujvaros
17:30 – Group F – Olympiacos Piraeus vs SIS Roma
18:00 – Group G – UVSE vs Dynamo Uralochka
18:00 – Group H – Kinef Kirishi – CE Mediterrani
19:15 – Group F – Ethnikos Piraeus vs CN Terrassa
20:00 – Group G – Ekipe Orizzonte vs NC Vouliagmeni
20:00 – Group H – Plebiscito Padova vs NC Glyfada
12 December, 2021
10:00 – Group G – Dynamo Uralochka vs NC Vouliagmeni
10:00 – Group H – NC Glyfada vs CE Mediterrani
10:30 – Group F – SIS Roma vs CN Terrassa
12:00 – Group E – FTC Telekom Budapest vs Dunaujvaros
12:00 – Group G – UVSE vs Ekipe Orizzonte
12:00 – Group H – Plebiscito Padova vs Kinef Kirishi
12:15 – Group F – Olympiacos Piraeus vs Ethnikos Piraeus
14:00 – Group E – Astralpool Sabadell vs CN Mataro
Top Goal-Scorers
- Silvia Avegno (SIS Roma) -21
- Judith Forca Ariza (Sabadell) – 21
- Simone Van de Kraats (Mataro) – 17
- Maria Bersneva (Dynamo Uralochka) – 16
- Bella Markoch (Mataro) – 14
- Mariia Borisova (Plebiscito Padova) – 13
- Maartje Keuning (Sabadell) -12
- Giuditta Galardi (SIS Roma) – 12
- Bea Ortiz (Terrassa) – 11
- Dafne Bettini (Ekipe Orizzonte) – 11
- Amy Ridge (Vouliagmeni) – 11
- Louise Gillet (Lille) – 11
- Anna Espar (Mataro) – 11
- Valeria Palmieri (Ekipe Orizzonte) -10
- Morena Leone (Ekipe Orizzonte) – 10
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