Sunday’s match between league leaders Sir Safety Susa Perugia and second-placed Trentino Itas is the headliner of what will be an important weekend in the SuperLega Credem Banca.
Superlega 2022
Perugia and Trentino to clash in big SuperLega weekend
The duel between the leaders and the second-placed side is one of three matches that could have huge implications in the Italian League
Published 07:31, 10 Feb 2023
Trentino and Perugia met in the gold medal match of the 2022 FIVB Men's Club World Championship
With only four more rounds left before the end of the regular season in Italy, each of the six matches set to take place between Saturday and Sunday has the potential to impact the standings as teams fight to be among the eight sides that will compete in the playoffs.
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The encounter between second-placed Trentino (35 points, 11 wins) and leaders Perugia (54 points, 18 wins), set to take place in Trento, at 18:30 local time (17:30 UTC), doesn’t have the potential to remove the reigning world champions from the top of the standings, but could hugely impact how both teams approach the end of the regular season and prepare for the playoffs.
Perugia have been in control all season, and have won their 18 Italian League matches and 13 more in other tournaments. They are yet to drop a game in the 2022-2023 club season. The team coached by veteran Andrea Anastasi certainly doesn’t want to see its impressive run of form end against Trentino, the opponents they faced in the gold medal of the 2022 FIVB Men’s Club World Championship, last December.
Perugia have been dominant in the team’s most recent encounters, winning nine of their last 11 matches between the teams, but they still want to use this weekend's match to collect valuable information on their rivals.
“It’s going to be a very important match for us, especially in terms of collecting information, even if Trentino are a team we know well and have faced three times already in the season,” Anastasi reflected. “We’ll need to play with great attention and be very cautious. They demanded a lot from us in our most recent matches and they have a great coach and excellent players in their squad.”
For the hosts of this weekend’s encounter, taking Perugia down would serve as a massive confidence booster ahead of the playoffs, especially after the world champions won the three duels between the two teams this season – at the Italian Superccopa, the SuperLega and the Club World Championship.
For Trentino, a victory would also probably mean maintaining their second-place spot for another week – they can be passed by third-placed Valsa Group Modena, who also have 35 points and face 12th-placed Gioiella Prisma Taranto on Sunday at 18:00 local time (17:00 UTC).
Another match that could have an impact on the teams in contention for the playoffs is Saturday’s duel between Top Volley Cisterna and Vero Volley Monza, which is scheduled for 18:00 local time (17:00 UTC). Currently ranked ninth and eighth in the standings, Cisterna (23 points, seven wins) and Monza (24 points, eight wins) are direct opponents in the race for a spot in the postseason.
The encounter between the teams in the first leg of the regular season was incredibly tight, with Monza winning in five sets, but Cisterna have prevailed in two of the last three duels and will have the support of their home fans in a match that will be pivotal for their plans this season.
Monza and Cisterna's duel in the first leg of the season was a five-set thriller
Another duel with the potential of seeing teams switch positions in the standings is the one reuniting sixth-placed Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza (27 points, nine wins) and seventh-placed Allianz Millano (26 points, nine wins), scheduled for 15:30 local time (14:30 UTC) on Sunday.
Winning that duel will be instrumental for both teams as they attempt to make a final push at the end of the regular season to finish in the top four and secure homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Defending champions Lube are currently fourth with 30 points (ten wins) – they were scheduled to face Emma Villas Aubay Sienna, who rank 11th, on the road on Sunday, but the match has been postponed.
The remaining SuperLega match of the weekend will see Pallavolo Padova (tenth) and WithU Verona (fifth) clash on Sunday, at 15:30 local time (14:30 UTC).
