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There are at least two reasons that suggest we'll see an open game devoid of attempts to tactically outplay the opponents. Baia Mare are in spot 4, their opponent in spot 4. The teams are 17 points apart. Baia Mare are set to face Ferencvaros from Hungary in Champions League on Friday. They will try and reach QFs in the remaining four games. On the other hand, they are now set to play a team lead by their former coach and assistant coach of Romania. Three former Baia mare players are at the visitors. The first h2h match this season, which took place mid-September was won by Baia Mare 30-25. That result is mostly what this margin was based on. Baia Mare's goal keeper had 17 saves in that game, while Braila's goal keepers had 15 saves. That says it all about the high intensity of that match. Zamfierscu, who is on loan at Braila from Baia Mare, didn't play that game since she joined the team the day after the game. Top CL scorer Pineau played only ten minutes back then and scored only one goal. The Romanian runner-ups gave more time on the floor to subs in that game overall. We expect something similar today - a match without much nervousness, without toughness in defense and with over 55 goals. Details

Of all the options that were offered in this match, I decided for the one that seems worth of the highest stake. The Serbs are the hosts of this championship and this is the first game of the tournament. I am aware that the host will be a bit 'stiff' and they will be hampered by the importance of this game, but I also believe that Serbia are currently better team than Slovenia. I respect Cujec, Kroflic, brothers Mordej and other Slovenians, but this is a tournament at which Serbia are predestined to achieve great things, just like Croatia did in Zagreb and Split in 2012. If we start comparing the strength of Serbian and Slovenian teams, we will come to the conclusion that Serbia covered all positions better. If we add to that full Kombank Arena, we come to my pick, which is that Serbia will direct the game in their favor already after the halftime. The value to this game is also added by the head-to-head preparation games these teams played before this tournament. Other bets in favor of Serbia also have value (win) just like the bets on Slovenia's under also have value. Details

I think that already have a sample big enough to make some conclusion based on their head-to-head games. Trabzon and Pinar faced each other three times this season, and three times the game finished under this margin of points. At the Pinar Cup, pre-season tournament, Karsiyaka won 74-70, in the league in Izmir, the home team won 74-71, and in the Eurocup Pinar won at home 81-68. We should also add to that the importance of today's game. This is a 'do or die' game for Pinar, because with a defeat they lose all chances of advancing to the knock-out stage. The situation is pretty much the same for Trabzon. At the existing margin, Trabzon have 28-12 this season in favor of under, 11-5 at home and 6-4 in the last 10 games. Pinar's stats are not as good (22-16 in favor of under, but 10-7 in away overs, 5-5 in the last 10 games), but their away games almost always went over mostly because they conceded too much (Panathinaikos 85, Efes 91, Barcelona 107, Fener 104, Reggio Emilia 88) which I don't expect today. They also played against teams that usually play over (Istanbul, Besiktas, Banvit) or the games were irrelevant (Stelmet). When you look at their games, nothing 'stands out' as a warning. Against tough opponents they were under in away games (Kuban, Zalgiris, Selchuk) and even against TED, and a few days ago at Trento. Trabzon concede under 72 at home, they conceded 85 at Galata, lost convincingly so coach Markovic said that they have to improve some things for the game against Pinar. The away team limited Besiktas at 59 points in the previous round, coach Sarica points out that this game is imperative for them and that they have to play like they did at home against Trabzon. And in that game they limited them to 68 points. Details

Fognini is totally unpredictable and Muller managed to force him into 4 straight tie-breaks at AO. He is great at winning service games but not so good at return, especially early in the matches. He opened half of the 8 matches of this season with a tiebreak. He has not played any tiebreaks only in the Coric match. Coric played Chennai final just before that. Muller played 11 indoor matches last season, 6 of which started with a tiebreak. Jaziri isn't predictable but just like Fognini, the opponents get sucked into Muller's rhythm because they have no choice. But, there's enough arguments for Jaziri alone here. He played 12 matches indoors last season (retirements not included) and opened half of them with a tiebreak. He played a tiebreak against Sijsling and Dodig, who are good in these conditions. He had two defeats in two matches this season but he also has two long first sets. I don't find that to be extremely important but it doesn't hurt to mention it. In any case, the odds are worth the stake here on something I cannot miss out on. Details

De Schepper advanced through qualifications here without playing a tiebreak, but he did as expected at his serve. He won 22 out of 23 service games. He will have a more difficult job at the return here, because Basilashvili knows how to play against servers. In the context of our bet, that means in the beginning focusing on saving his serve and waiting for a possible chance. Last year he played that way twice against Lopez, every time the set went into tiebreak. He also played two matches against Karlovic last year, first sets of both went into tiebreak. The fact that De Schepper defeated Coppejans is irrelevant for this context. The Belgian does not play tennis based on saving his serve. Also, De Schepper played 28 indoor matches last season. 10 of them went into tiebreak of the first set. Basilashvili is playing his first indoor match of the season. He probably knows what is waiting for him and he will have to focus on his serve. He has shown that he can do that against servers and that is why this match is a good chance. Details