ZAKSA entertain Projekt for Thursday’s early start of PlusLiga weekend

Just three days after the end of the first half of the Polish PlusLiga regular season, the second is already set to start. The 16^th leg offers two big clashes between top-five teams and one of them will occur in Thursday’s half-season opener between ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle and PGE Projekt Warsaw. The other one, between BOGDANKA LUK Lublin and Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie, will highlight Saturday’s programme. A total of eight PlusLiga games will be played between Thursday and Monday.

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ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle will host PGE Projekt Warsaw on Thursday, December 12, at 17:30 local time (16:30 UTC), in a duel between the fifth-placed and the second-placed teams in the current standings. Bartosz Kurek, American libero Erik Shoji and company stand on 31 points and a 10-5 win-loss record, while the visitors from the capital, with the likes of Jakub Kochanowski and Frenchman Kevin Tillie on the squad, are on 35 and 13-2. It will be the 64^th PlusLiga encounter between the two clubs in history. The head-to-head is heavily in favour of ZAKSA at 49-14, but when they last met in September’s first leg, Projekt mastered a straight-set home win.

Things will heat up even more on Saturday, when BOGDANKA LUK Lublin welcome Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie at 14:45 (13:45). The home team around star outside hitter Wilfredo Leon is in fourth place on 31 and 11-4, while his American counterpart Aaron Russell and his teammates stand third, three points above, on 34 and 11-4. Aluron have won all but one of the seven previous encounters with BOGDANKA. At their last meeting in September, however, it was the visitors from Lublin the emerged victorious after a five-set battle.

In between these two big matches, Friday will also offer some PlusLiga action, with Nowak-Mosty MKS Bedzin entertaining GKS Katowice at 20:30 (19:30). This duel is really important in the context of survival as both sides start the second half-season from within the relegation zone – Nowak-Mosty in 14^th place on 11 and 3-12, and GKS trailing bottom in 16^th place on 4 and 1-14.

Saturday’s programme will continue with a game between PGE GiEK SKRA Belchatow and Indykpol AZS Olsztyn at 17:30 (16:30). The two teams are within reach of one another in terms of points, but hosts SKRA are in eighth place on 23 and a positive balance of 8-7, while their visitors are 10^th on 20 and a negative balance of 6-9.

Also on Saturday, table leaders Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj, standing convincingly on top on 40 and 13-2, will host Ukraine’s Barkom Kazhany Lviv, who are second from the bottom, in 15^th place on 9 and 3-12. The match starts at 20:30 (19:30).

PSG Stal Nysa will try to stay above the relegation zone as they face a difficult task at home against seventh-placed Asseco Resovia Rzeszow on Sunday at 14:45 (13:45). Stal are 13^th in the table on 12 and 3-12, while Resovia stand on 25 and 7-8.

Later on Sunday, at 17:30 (16:30), sixth-placed Steam Hemarpol Norwid Czestochowa will visit ninth-placed Slepsk Malow Suwalki looking for vendetta for the home loss in the first leg of the season. Norwid stand on 28 and 10-5, while Slepsk will also look to improve on their 21 and 8-7 in a quest for a spot in the playoff zone.

The 16^th leg will close on Monday evening, at 20:30 (19:30) with a clash between table neighbours Trefl Gdansk and Cuprum Stilon Gorzow Wielkopolski. The home team is in 12^th place on 17 and 5-10, while the visitors from Gorzow Wielkopolski are in 11^th on 19 and 8-7.

PlusLiga 2024-2025 16th leg:
Dec 12, 17:30 local (16:30 UTC): ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle v PGE Projekt Warsaw
Dec 13, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Nowak-Mosty MKS Bedzin v GKS Katowice
Dec 14, 14:45 local (13:45 UTC): BOGDANKA LUK Lublin v Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie
Dec 14, 17:30 local (16:30 UTC): PGE GiEK SKRA Belchatow v Indykpol AZS Olsztyn
Dec 14, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj v Barkom Kazhany Lviv
Dec 15, 14:45 local (13:45 UTC): PSG Stal Nysa v Asseco Resovia Rzeszow
Dec 15, 17:30 local (16:30 UTC): Slepsk Malow Suwalki v Steam Hemarpol Norwid Czestochowa
Dec 16, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Trefl Gdansk v Cuprum Stilon Gorzow Wielkopolski

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