Decisive push to see final standings delivered in the 4th Round of the #CLVolleyM

The final matchday of the 4th round of the CEV Champions League Men is upon us, with the final tickets for the knockout phase being delivered. And while some teams have already secured their first place, the battle is still ongoing for the remaining places.

The current format of the competition sees all the pool winners advance to the quarter-finals, where three of them will face teams coming from the play-offs, while the fourth ranked and the fifth ranked pool winners will collide in one of the quarter-finals.

The second-placed sides in the five pools will all go into the play-offs, as well as the best third-placed side at the end of the day.

Currently, the best side in the competition, which has already secured safe passage to the quarter-finals, are Italian powerhouse Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia. The Italian side, which has made the top-4 three times between 2021 and 2023, have dominated their opponents in clear fashion, with five 3:0 wins, as they cannot lose the first place.

Winning their match, even with a 3:2 result, would see the Pool D leaders progress to the quarter-finals as the top ranked pool winner, as the other closest sides, PGE Projekt Warszawa and Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie, have lost one and two sets respectively, with the latter also having one point less than the Italian side.

However, Perugia will face a tough challenge on their home court, against Halkbank Ankara, with the Turkish side fighting for their future in the competition, as they are currently second, with a three-point and one-win advantage over Saint-Nazaire VB Atlantique.

Halkbank will likely progress even in case of a loss, but they will need to take at least one set, as the battle for the best third-placed side is also intensifying, with Saint-Nazaire currently holding the lead in that standing, due to having a point more than Fenerbahçe Medicana İstanbul and Chaumont VB 52.

If Halkbank lose in straight sets and Saint-Nazaire win, then it will go down to the set point ratio, where the Turkish side currently hold a big advantage over the French side.

In Pool A, PGE Projekt Warszawa and Berling Recycling Volleys have secured the first two places, with the Polish side dropping a single set so far in their five wins. They will undoubtedly finish first, but would like to secure one of the top two places in the pool winners’ ranking, while the team from the German capital are currently the top ranked second-placed side, which would be an advantage into the knockout phase. Warszawa cannot lose their first place, as they have a better set ratio than Berlin, which cannot be turned even with a 3:0 win from the German side.

In Pool B, the situation is more complicated. Mint Vero Volley Monza have four wins, one more than Olympiacos, but less points, 10 compared to the Greek side’s 11. Therefore, Monza need to win against last-placed side Helios Grizzlys Giesen, in order to secure the first place in the group.

Nevertheless, they will finish as the last-ranked pool winners, as they cannot advance in that separate standing. However, with Olympiacos facing Fenerbahçe Medicana Istanbul in a true classic, everything is possible, with the Greek being sure of placing second, due to their superior point difference to their Turkish opponents (11 to five).

Fenerbahçe Medicana could face elimination here and they will need to take at least one point, as the battle for the best ranked third-placed side is fiery, as they now have one point less than Saint-Nazaire.

In Pool C, the battle between Alurom CMC Warta Zawiercie and Allianz Milano will be one for the ages. The Polish side has 14 points, has dropped only two sets so far, but hold only a two-point lead against the Italian rivals, which they will host in the last matchday.

Lose that match and win a set at most and Zawiercie are due to concede the first place to the Italian side, which lost the first match between the two sides, 2:3. Nevertheless, both sides are in the knockout phase, it remains to be seen only in which round they are due to play.

The runners-up of the previous two seasons, Polish side Jastrzębski Węgiel, have won all matches so far, but lost four sets, with their 3:2 win over Levski Sofia in the last round hampering their efforts to secure a better finish in the ranking of the top placed sides.

However, Jastrzębski Węgiel cannot lose the first place even if they lose against SVG Lüneburg, as the German side have also secured the second place, due to having three wins. 

Lüneburg have already clinched the second place, irrespective of the results in the last matchday, but both Chaumont and Levski can still be the best third-placed side, but they will need other results to go their way.