Regular season action in Italy’s men’s league will resume on Saturday, after a weekend off due to the Del Monte Supercoppa 2021 event. This weekend’s third-leg action is highlighted by Sunday’s clash between Itas Trentino Trento and Cucine Lube Civitanova, one of six SuperLega Credem Banca fixtures coming up over the next two days, all available live and on demand on VolleyballWorld.tv.

Current leaders Trentino will try to use the home-court advantage to continue their winning streak since the start of the season. Experienced Bulgarian captain Matey Kaziyski (pictured above) is set to lead his teammates to their fifth consecutive victory, after they took the three points in each of their first two games in the SuperLega and won both their Supercoppa semifinal and final games in Civitanova Marche last weekend to claim the trophy.

Defending champions Lube will travel in turn to Trento in an attempt to put a stop to a negative series of two defeats in a row. After a victorious start away in the league, Osmany Juantorena and his colleagues lost their second game in five sets at home to Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza and followed up with another loss, in the Supercoppa semifinal against Vero Volley Monza, again at home in Civitanova, last Saturday. Lube are currently fourth in the standings on four points, but a defeat in Trento could push them way down the ladder.

“It will be a very nice challenge, but also a very difficult one,” said Lube’s Brazilian star Ricardo Lucarelli, who played for Trentino last season. “We will face the team that triumphed in the Supercoppa. For us, the face-to-face with Itas Trentino will be very important not only for the three points, but also for finding our level of play. I expect to feel comfortable at the BLM Group Arena because I trained there for a year. I want to help my team win. After some less brilliant performances there is some concern which increases the pressure a bit, but this is what our job is like and we are used to it. Everyone always expects wins. What really matters is to give everything on the court.”

Sunday’s game between Trentino and Lube is scheduled at 18:00 local time.

While second-placed Sir Safety Conad Perugia are off this weekend, the third team in the league on a 2-0 win-loss record, Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza, will kick the third leg off on Saturday at 18:00 with a home match against Allianz Milan, the fourth side yet to be defeated this season. The squad from Piacenza started the season with a four-set win over Consar RCM Ravenna at home and then travelled to Civitanova to upset Lube in a thrilling five-setter, in which their Turkish opposite Adis Lagumdzija hammered out 35 points. Allianz Milan were off in the first leg. In the second, they won their only game so far, a 3-2 at home in a local derby with neighbours Vero Volley Monza.

Also on Saturday, at 20:30, Leo Shoes PerkinElmer Modena’s stellar squad will try to recover from losing their only game so far, at Vero Volley in the first leg. They will welcome seventh-placed Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia (1-1), whose Japanese opposite Yuji Nishida will try to build upon the 36 points, including seven aces, he scored in the team’s first two games.

“I think Modena has an excellent team and I am happy to be able to play against a club of great tradition and great value,” Nishida said. “We want to exploit our strengths and it will be necessary to do it to the fullest because we will really face a strong team eager to win.”

Sunday’s schedule offers three matches in addition to the big highlight in Trento. Verona Volley host Top Volley Cisterna at 15:30, with each side hoping for their first win. Kioene Padua entertain Consar RCM Ravenna at 18:00.

The third leg will be completed with a 20:30 fixture between fifth-placed Vero Volley Monza, Supercoppa finalists last weekend, and sixth-placed Gioiella Prisma Taranto, each on a 1-1 win-loss record.

• Watch all the matches of the Italian men's and women's top-division leagues live or on demand on VolleyballWorld.tv.

• Get all the results, statistics, schedules and more on the official website of the Italian men's league.