NLB MATCH OF THE ROUND: Battle for the top – Crvena zvezda Meridianbet vs. Partizan Mozzart Bet
It’s time for another big Belgrade derby! This Sunday evening, Crvena zvezda Meridianbet will host Partizan Mozzart Bet in this week’s NLB Match of the Round.
Yago dos Santos (Photo: ABA League j.t.d./Dragana Stjepanovic)
2023/24 AdmiralBet ABA League Round 18, Sunday, 28 January 2024:
CRVENA ZVEZDA MERIDIANBET - PARTIZAN MOZZART BET
Where? Štark Arena, Belgrade
When? 19:00
Story of the game: It’s time for another big Belgrade derby! This Sunday evening, Crvena zvezda Meridianbet will host Partizan Mozzart Bet in this week’s NLB Match of the Round.
This game might have huge impact on the race for the 1st place in the regular season as the two Belgrade giants are currently holding the top two spots on the standings. At this moment, Crvena zvezda Meridianbet hold the 1st place with the overall score of 15-2, while Partizan Mozzart Bet are two steps behind with the overall score of 13-4.
In the 1st part of the season, Partizan Mozzart Bet defeated Crvena zvezda Meridianbet in the AdmiralBet ABA League by 98:87, yet now the red-and-whites will have home-court advantage and you know very well how much that is important in the games between these two eternal rivals. It is enough just to say that only in this season, the two Belgrade giants faced each other 3 times in all competitions (1x in AdmiralBet ABA League and 2x in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague) and every time the home team seized the win.
It is also important to say couple of words about injury problems as the home team have had lot of problems lately with injured players.
Crvena zvezda Meridianbet will most certainly be without their young gun Nikola Topić who is still recovery from a leg injury, while we are about to see whether the team’s leader Miloš Teodosić will recover in time to help the team in the Sunday’s clash. Teodosić missed the last couple of games. Nemanja Nedović has recovered and he was part of Zvezda’s roster in the game against Alba Berlin last week.
On the other side, Partizan Mozzart Bet will have full roster available for the upcoming game. After going through some serious injury problems throughout the season, the black-and-whites now finally have all players ready to get on the court and that is definitely a big plus for the away team in the following game.
Match-up in focus: It is impossible to single out just two players who might take the key role in the upcoming derby.
But, let’s say that the duel between Luka Mitrović (Crvena zvezda Meridianbet) and Zach LeDay (Partizan Mozzart Bet) will definitely be very important for the final score as both players were exceptionally good in almost every derby game they played in the past.
Head-to-head score in the regional league: In total 30:29; At Crvena zvezda Meridianbet home court 20:8.
