ZAKSA chasing fourth place in PlusLiga with two home games this week

In a long Polish PlusLiga “weekend”, running from Thursday to Monday with a total of nine games on offer, ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle will play two matches at home, hoping to climb up to fourth place and get closer to the top three in the current standings, with another three legs to go to the end of the regular season.

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The PlusLiga marathon opens on Thursday evening, February 27, at 20:30 local time (19:30 UTC) with a postponed 18^th-leg game between ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle and Indykpol AZS Olsztyn, with which they will catch up with the rest of the teams on 26 matches played each. ZAKSA are in fifth place on 52 points and an 18-7 win-loss record, just two points below fourth-placed BOGDANKA LUK Lublin. Indykpol, on the other hand, are still in the running for a playoff spot. With a game in hand, they are in ninth place on 34 and 10-15, just three points below the cut-off for the quarterfinals. However, it has been over two years since they last beat ZAKSA. When they last met in September, the squad from Kedzierzyn-Kozle claimed a 3-1 away win in Olsztyn.

Less than three days later, ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle will welcome an even stronger opponent. Already in a 27^th-leg fixture, on Sunday at 14:45 (13:45), they will take on reigning national cup and super cup champions Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie, who stand second in the table on 61 and 20-6. In their 12^th-leg encounter in November, Aluron produced a 3-1 home victory over ZAKSA.

In their second game of the “weekend”, Indykpol AZS Olsztyn will close the leg on Monday with a big head-to-head duel for a quarterfinal berth with Steam Hemarpol Norwid Czestochowa, starting at 17:30 (16:30). It is the visitors from Czestochowa that are currently occupying the coveted eighth place in the standings, on 37 and 13-13. But even a three-point win for Indykpol will not be enough to surpass Norwid, unless they get something from their trip to Kedzierzyn-Kozle before that. In November, the two teams put up a five-set battle with hosts Norwid emerging victorious in the overtime of the tie-breaker.

The 27^th leg will open on Friday at 17:30 (16:30), with PGE Projekt Warsaw entertaining Cuprum Stilon Gorzow Wielkopolski. The team from the capital is in third place, a point short of the second, but on a win-loss record of 22-4, it is still the team with the most victories this season so far. One of these wins was November’s straight-setter in Gorzow Wielkopolski. In theory, Curpum Stilon are still in danger of relegation and in the running for the playoffs, but in practice, their 12^th place on 28 and 11-15 keeps them far enough from both.

Also on Friday, at 20:30 (19:30), Slepsk Malow Suwalki will host Barkom Kazhany Lviv, hoping to gain important points in the race for the playoffs. They are 10^th in the standings on 33 and 12-14, still well within reach of a quarterfinal spot. The Ukrainian team is in the relegation zone, in 14^th place on 20 and 7-19, and have a five-point gap to make up for, if they want to climb out of it. Slepsk Malow won the away match in November after a five-set duel.

Saturday’s competition programme will offer three matches, starting at 12:30 (11:30) with Nowak-Mosty MKS Bedzin’s home game against Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj. The defending champions are gradually cruising towards winning the regular season as they are five points clear on top of the table, on 66 and 21-5. Nowak-Mosty, on the other hand, are stuck at the opposite end of the standings, in 16^th place on 12 and 3-23, and are already packing for their move to the second division. So, free from any pressure, they can still please their home crowd with a good performance against mighty Jastrzebski.

Then, at 14:45 (13:45), there will be an exciting clash between table neighbours PGE GiEK SKRA Belchatow and Asseco Resovia Rzeszow, as both sides are enjoying the momentums of long winning streaks. Hosts SKRA are seventh on 45 and 15-11 and may be able to stamp their ticket to the playoffs at the end of this match, or even on the day before, depending on other results. Their visitors from Rzeszow stand sixth on 48 and 15-11, and have already secured a quarterfinal spot. In their previous game, Resovia shut out SKRA at home.

PSG Stal Nysa and BOGDANKA LUK Lublin will close Saturday’s competition day with their encounter at 17:30 (16:30). Hosts Stal are now five points away from the relegation zone, in 13^th place on 25 and 7-19, but that’s not enough to relax just yet. Lublin are running in fourth place on 54 and 18-8.

One more game will be played on Sunday. At 17:30 (16:30), Trefl Gdansk will entertain GKS Katowice. Trefl might be keeping their hopes for the playoffs alive as they are five points below the cut-off, in 11^th place on 32 and 10-16. By the start of this match, 15^th-placed GKS might already be without a chance for survival in the PlusLiga, but anything other than a win in Gdansk would have the same effect, anyway.

PlusLiga 2024-2025 18th leg:
Feb 27, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle v Indykpol AZS Olsztyn

PlusLiga 2024-2025 27th leg:
Feb 28, 17:30 local (16:30 UTC): PGE Projekt Warsaw v Cuprum Stilon Gorzow Wielkopolski
Feb 28, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Slepsk Malow Suwalki v Barkom Kazhany Lviv
Mar 01, 12:30 local (11:30 UTC): Nowak-Mosty MKS Bedzin v Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj
Mar 01, 14:45 local (13:45 UTC): PGE GiEK SKRA Belchatow v Asseco Resovia Rzeszow
Mar 01, 17:30 local (16:30 UTC): PSG Stal Nysa v BOGDANKA LUK Lublin
Mar 02, 14:45 local (13:45 UTC): ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle v Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie
Mar 02, 17:30 local (16:30 UTC): Trefl Gdansk v GKS Katowice
Mar 03, 17:30 local (16:30 UTC): Indykpol AZS Olsztyn v Steam Hemarpol Norwid Czestochowa

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