With the teams separated by just one point in the standings - Budowlani are third with 15 and Commercecon are fourth with 14 -, the duel will be a direct battle for a spot in the top three.
The encounter will also serve as an opportunity for both to bounce back after surprising defeats that cost them one spot in the Tauron Liga standings - Budowlani fell at home to UNI Opole, seeing their five-match winning streak come to an end, while Commercecon lost to BKS BOSTIK ZGO Bielsko-Biała in front of their home fans to suffer a setback after three consecutive victories.
The Łódź rivals began their campaigns in the CEV Champions League this week and both started with home losses, as Budowlani fell to Italy's Igor Gorgonzola Novara, while Commercecon were taken down by Germany's Dresdner SC.
The home team in Saturday's encounter, Budowlani are coming from the first match in which they didn't earn points in the season. They count on Swiss Maja Storck, the team's leading scorer with 86 points, to win the Derby and return to winning ways. Other standouts in the team are Slovenian middle blocker Saša Planinšec, who ranks fourth in the league in blocks (24), and libero Justyna Łysiak, who's third in digs (110).
Commercecon, who had entered the top three for the first time in the season after going down to Bielsko-Biała, want to return as quickly as possible. A new signing in 2025-2026, Brazilian outside hitter Mariana Brambilla has been leading the team's offense and has already produced 88 points. Team captain and middle blocker Anna Obiała has been a stud in their defensive system, having registered the league's fourth-best mark of 20 blocks.
Rivals in the Tauron Liga since the 2016-2017 season, the teams have already met 29 times in the domestic tournament. Commercecon lead the series with 18 wins and triumphed in the two meetings of last season's best-of-three semifinal series. They came out on top in six of the last ten duels.
