Serbia – Hungary

Men’s Water Polo debuts at the Olympics with one of the best matches the tournament has to offer, a meeting between Serbia and Hungary in an incredibly difficult Group A. The Serbians are the best team in the world and clear cut favorites to win the title, while the Hungarians are also one of the best 3-4 sides in the competition and the most successful Nation in the sport’s history. The group also features Greece, another team which is definitely in the World’s top 5. Four teams qualify from each of the two groups.

Serbia has never won an Olympic title, despite being at the top of the sport since Yugoslavia went extinct. They finished third at the 2012 Olympics. This seems to be their best chance however, as the Serbians own an excellent team with some of the best players in the world, like Filipovic (Water Polo player of the year in 2011 and 2014) or Andrija Prlainovic, 2016 European championships MVP.

Serbia is in fantastic shape, dominating the sport in the last few years, winning 4 consecutive FINA World League titles (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016), two consecutive World Cups (2010, 2014), the 2015 World Championship (much more important than the World Cup) and three consecutive European Championships (2012, 2014, 2016). The Serbians are basically winning everything right now and pressure is on them to deliver in Rio, as they are rated at odds of ~ 1.60 to win the title.

Hungary has won 9 Olympic titles, but the team has been of a bit of a downtrend lately. Hungary finished 5th at the 2012 Olympics, 6th in the last World Championships (2015) and 3rd in the last European Championships, which took place this year. They were battered in the semifinals by a Montenegro team that lost the final against Serbia. In the 2016 World League they were knocked out from the group stage by Greece, so signs are not good for Hungary coming into this Olympic tournament. They still remain one of the favorites for medals though.

Bet on Serbia v Hungary with the best 2016 Rio Olympics Water Polo odds at 1xBet!

Serbia is winning every tournament, they are hands down the best team in the world. They are defending champions in every possible competition, except the Olympics, which is the most important and which they have never won. Pressure on them to deliver is at a cosmic level, as anything less than a gold medal would be viewed as a failure – while at the same time they are not as dominant as let’s say USA in basketball, who is so good that pressure actually becomes a non – factor.

Serbia is a team that virtually has no weakness, they are all around excellent both individually and as a team. They boost some of the best wing play ever to be seen in Water Polo and will definitely want to start strong, make a statement.

Despite the pressure and this being the first match of the tournament, I fully expect Serbia to come out on top. There is no time to lose, as the winner in this match will almost surely finish first in the group, which is a very important objective. I think this minimizes the ‘unknown factor’ of it being the first match of the tournament.

I feel Hungary’s reputation and the fact that this is the first game for both teams make the odds artificially higher than they should be, as Serbia is simply a much better team right now. A blowout is unlikely, but Serbia should be able to win this by 2-3 goals even on an average day.

Given my dreadful form, I`m confident that changing the scenery a bit will be good for my profits and the Olympics are the perfect opportunity, especially with Water Polo and Swimming, sports I know and look forward to. While I am not particularly an expert in Water Polo betting, I did make plenty of bets on the sport, while also playing it for many years when I was young, so I`m looking forward to some Water Polo previews and betting in the next few weeks.

All in all, my tip on this Olympic Water Polo opening clash is Serbia to win. I wasn`t planning to bet maximum stakes on this first match of the competition, but the odds for a straight Serbia win are higher than expected and just good enough to warrant a singles bet. Odds should not be higher than 1.30 here. As such, I will go with a simple Serbia win for extra safety, though a 1,5 goal handicap should be covered as well. Prediction: Serbia – Hungary 10 – 7.

Pick: Serbia
Odds: 1.45 @ 1xBet
Stake: 10
Possible profit: 4.50
Event date: 6 August