betprepare.com

This text will be published soon. Details

I don't think Spirou are as big a favorite as the odds might suggest. They did win two championship games, but with two key players Dowdell and Houston in the roster. But point guard got injured and Hudson retired unexpectedly. That is when the problems for Spirou started. They lost 4 out of the last 5 games (three in a row), with their last meeting taking place less than 48 hours ago in Sevilla. Some new players joined, but still need more time as the last championship match with Pepinster clearly proved. They lost and didn't do well against Willebroek, who had to do with only about 5 first team players. Leuven are a serious team. They lost to Pepinster as well, but beat the same opponent in the Cup by 11 points. Leuven beat Willebroek and lost to Okapi at season's start, which is no surprise since no one managed to beat Okapi yet. There were no changes on the visiting team over the summer meaning they are consistent. They didn't lose any of the 4 head-to-head games with Spirou last year by more than 13 points. Spirou today are still not at the level they will reach in a month or two. Details

Olympiacos beat Laboral easily in both of their Top 16 games. They were 19 points up by half time to win by 19 in the end in Spain. The point difference in Greece was 30. Crespi says this Olympiacos team is even better, which is something I have to agree with. They do struggle with injuries, but Darden and Papapetrou haven't been on the team since mid-preseason, and they managed to win without Printezis a week ago in Spain. Olympiacos failed twice this season already, which could make Kutxta, whose performances are horrible this season, easy pray for making amends. Laboral simply don't have anything to stand up to Olympiacos, the defense is preforming extremely poorly, while offense won't be able to deal with Olympiaco's aggressiveness. Not even Real managed to win here last year. When Olympiacos do their best, no one can stand up to them at Pirej. The motivation will be running high following a defeat to Kifisia. They proved to know how to handle Laboral last year. They singled out Huertas as Laboral's leader and defending him will get them on the right path. Details

Lublin were around this margin with Buducnost last year and we all know what kind of pace Buducnost play on. Not much has changed this season, with Lublin's game in Romania with defense-oriented Baia Mare ending at 55 goals. The Poles displayed two game characteristics last year - great transition and disastrous defense. Larvik still don't seem to be at last season's defense level, but definitely do transition better than Baia Mare. They probably would have gone over this margin with Metz if the French team hadn't slowed the pace down for about 6 minutes. That is not what I expect Lubin to do and a game at 55 goals seems like a realistic outcome. Details

For both teams this is a match that could direct their fate in the Euroleague. The coming schedule of matches is very difficult, and the team that loses here will be in dire straits half way through the competition. Cedevita are missing Ukić and Tomas, two of their most experienced, with Ukić of particular importance for their offense. I believe they will be in big trouble against the aggression Limoges will impose in their own arena, and knowing Repeša, he will fully rely on defense. The last four matches Cedevita played did not go over 145 points. Limoges on the other hand have not allowed any of their three home opponents so far this season to score over 62 points, and after their last two poor defense performances in away matches I'm certain Dupraz will demand a full focus and commitment on defense. This was deemed a key match for Limoges a long time ago, and the team have had problems dealing with pressure on offense in games such as this one. The margin is dropping, but I believe it still has value, as this match will end at 140 or less points in my opinion. Details

The home team have too many problems, which is definitely one of the reasons to pick Midtjylland. Odense are missing two very important players, Adler and Iversen, both among the top four scorers of the team, while Adler is even more important with the fact that she's been off the team for four rounds now and is still among the Top 4 scorers of the team. Those two were also a central part of their defense, which means their defense will also be in disarray. Even without those issues Midtjylland would still be a favorite, as a team attacking the title and having three consecutive victories. They have far bigger individual potential at all positions, and according to the latest information their right back LIne Jorgensen might also play, which would make Midtjylland's offense complete and even more deadly. A margin worth the indicated stake. Details

Trefl tried to get this game postponed but the visitors wouldn't agree and the game will take place today. That is not good news for the home team, who can't count on the key players Leonczyk, Vasiliauskas, and Stefanski. Some others came down with a cold as well, according to the last available information. Dutkewicz just got back after recovering from an injury and can't do his best yet. Trefl lost to Koszalin by 28 points (scored 60). The local rival Asseco will have a great chance today. They kept all the key players and the coach on the team over the summer. That is precisely what the coach thinks is their greatest advantage today. They beat Trefl in preseason 72-57 and limited Anwil to 58 points away two weeks ago. They will clearly try and take control of the match with a tough defense game to create attempts as easy as possible. Details

I can't agree with Zalgiris being the favorite in this match. I think the close game they played with Real is being taken into consideration here too much. That game is not as significant since Real aren't in good shape yet. Nizhny are, on the other hand, doing great and remain undefeated this season. The team are good, with great players at every position, and quality-wise can't be compared with Zalgiris, whose only advantage here is the home arena. But the Russians are well-experienced and better and I won't succumb to pressure. I think they're much closer to win than the odds suggest. Details

Karlović demolished De Schepper on the return yesterday, but only starting with the second half of the second set, up to when everything went as predicted. We saw a single break point in the first set and it was the Frenchman who had it. Becker and Kukushkin played break for break yesterday (although two sets ended in tie breaks), but this is a different story. Becker has a negative score against the Croatian and knows full well that losing your serve means losing a set. The first set of their last three duels ended in a tie break, and of the seven they played two were indoors. All four sets were extended, and both of the first ones had a tie-break. I expect the same happening today as Ivo played four first-set tie-breaks in his last five indoor matches. Details

Kazan have not not playing well for a very long time now, not only the last few days. Efes beat them easily in Istanbul and their VTB league performances are not convincing. They're struggling with much weaker teams and when playing qualifying matches in Belgium, had to make comebacks in virtually every game. Granted, that proves character but their unconvincing defense game won't work against Real. We got used to Pedoulakis' very tough defense at Panathinaikos, but his players here are different than Panathinaikos'. He has Langford and Jerrells, two offense oriented players, at his disposal here. That is preventing Pedoulakis to put his defense plan in action the way he wants it. Real have had a few strange games home, but their defense can stop Kazan. This is the toughest challenge for Real since the Valencia and Barcelona games (Supercup). They won both of those, by 13 and 21 point and following poorer performances with Joventut and Zalgiris, the team will be keen on doing well today Details

Dynamo Krasnodar has build a dream team for this season. They're the most valuable team in the championship, there's no doubt about it. I think they're going to start the championship successfully to justify the great investments made ahead of the season. Great new signings Koseleva and Fa Garay, together with Sokolova, who has not been on the national team over the summer, will be their leaders on the court today. Kazan won both the Champions League and the Russian league last season, but lost Larson, their second most important player. Moroz, the leading blocker, left as well. I'd say they're at lest 20% weaker than last year and Krasnodar at least 30% stronger. They will be motivated today, with new coach Usakov replacing Selinger, who was mostly blamed for Krasnodar not being able to do more in previous seasons. Krasnodar are much better this season than in any previous years and I believe them to prove it today by getting the three points. Details

Byasen have individual quality and European cup experience on their side, but they are no longer the team who were traditionally second in Norway and left a very good impression at European competitions. Now their starters count three junior players and the bench is filled almost exclusively with juniors who have great potential but were not in the forefront last year. They have a big responsibility this season, which did not go easily in the Norwegian league, on the contrary, they already lost against teams who are among the three 'worst' in the championship. On Thursday they lost the Cup quarterfinal against Halden, a team who don't have much of a score themselves in the championship, which was yet another blow to Byasen prior to this double bout in Danilovgrad. The home team are known to be one of the most talented generations in Montenegro, with the best right back in the world for this age category and four players on the A team. Their downside is naturally youth and lack of experience, but playing together throughout the year, both in the club and the cadette national team under the leadership of Maja Savić, is producing results. Apart from doing great at the cadette W, Danilovgrad won two regional league matches in this period, and beating Krim carries some wight. Krim are significantly weaker compared to past seasons, but still have some experienced players on their team, which shows significant progress by Danilovgrad in this season. The team have a winning mentality and the least we can expect in this duel is a battle throughout the 60 minutes of both this match and tomorrow's rematch at home, while we believe the handicap margin on offer is at least two or three goals above the realistic one. Details

Raonic is still fighting for a spot in London, and this tournament will have a huge roll in his attempt to get there. After a shock defeat in Moscow last year, two players got ahead in the table and he needs a good result in Basel this week. Having recovered from the injury, Raonic is physically completely fit but fatigue is certainly there, especially against the opponents' services. He managed to win only two breaks in the two matches so far (total of 5 sets), with serving being the main reason he gt through to quarter final. He fired 34 aces so far, having won more than 80% of first service games. I think serving will once again be his main focus. Goffin is the best opponent he met here and I wouldn't be surprised if he was the last one. The Belgian is on a streak of 12 indoors wins and bursting with confidence. I don't think Raonic will give him a lot of opportunities in his service games, especially early in the match. The surface in Basel is fast, both opponents know how good the other is and I expect both to focus on serving at first. I wouldn't not be surprised by a first set tie-break and gladly accept these odds. Details

Carolina are the worst performing teams in the league as expected, not having recorded a single win in the first 6 rounds. The bad streak was caused by numerous injuries affecting their players so Carolna can't count on the Staal brothers, Gerbe and Dywer are out as well, and the situation on the team is not good. Calgary improved their game this season with 4 wins in 8 games only making the progress more obvious, especially when it comes to defense, which I expect to be their main weapon in the attempt to beat Carolina. The first eight games force me to trust them, with the tough defense, reliable goalies and young and fast attack being their advantage today. The last round meeting with Tampa should have been a win for Calgary but Tampa did the final moments of the game better to win. Just to compare, Tampa are at least a level above this Carolina team. Calgary beat Carolina both times last season and I trust it they will do the same today. They're not a top table team and cannot afford to be relaxed about losing a game here and there. After a good start, every point counts and these kind of games simply need to be won. Details