This weekend, on January 25th and 26th, at the Unipol Arena in Casalecchio di Reno (Bologna), four teams will compete for the Del Monte Italian Cup 2025 in the SuperLega.
Tomorrow's program includes the first semi-final, Perugia-Verona, at 17:15, followed by the second semi-final, Trento-Civitanova, at 18:30. The grand final will be played on Sunday at 17:15. Live broadcast on MaxSport1, Rai Sport, and VBTV.
IT'S DIFFICULT TO MAKE A PREDICTION
If a few weeks ago everyone would have predicted an easy win for Sir Susa Vim Perugia, today it might be a bit more complicated to guess which team will lift the trophy.
HOW IS PERUGIA?
The Umbrians, who still remain the favorite team, are coming off two consecutive losses against Trento and Civitanova, and most importantly, they lost Oleh Plotnytskyi due to injury. A heavy blow that might have also caused a psychological effect in coach Lorenzetti's tight-knit locker room. Two slaps, however, are not enough to bring down a team of this caliber. A team that, just by reading the names, including those on the bench, instills fear. Furthermore, Russo and Ishikawa have returned from injury. An abundance of choices?
HOW IS VERONA?
The Scaligeri are a team that can easily be described as a "dark horse" in this Final Four. They can either crush the competition or be eliminated early and badly. Unpredictable is the exact word forStoychev's team, which, after the loss of Dzavoronok, also due to a long injury, missed several rounds in the championship, after which they recovered their good form. In Modena, with a three-set victory, Verona presented an unusual formation, including Jensen as opposite and Keita on the wing in tandem with Mozic (Verona Volley and Keita continue together until 2027). The experiment was completely successful. Will it be repeated?
HOW IS TRENTO?
The European champion has all the prerequisites to fight for success, but is starting to show signs of fatigue due to a calendar that, to say the least, is overloaded. Against Grottazzolina, this aspect was clearly visible, despite the final victory in the tie-break. Another team full of top players in all positions, Itas Trento has qualified for the Final Four of the Italian Cup for the sixteenth consecutive time (an absolute record!). Despite participating in nine finals, the number of victories is only three, with the last one being from back in 2013. Is it time to step onto the highest step of the podium?
HOW IS CIVITANOVA?
Tell us if this looks like a team in a transitional period. In the season of big changes, many young players, and a change of coach, Lube does not look at all like a team in a transitional year. Third in the standings, always a winner at home, and recently cured of their problems on the road. Coach Medei's youngsters (this includes Aleksandar Nikolov) are showing really great things, and the three-point victory against Perugia is a manifesto of their season. They arrive in Bologna as underdogs, and precisely because they have nothing to lose or prove, they could cause an upset. It might not happen, but what if it does?
