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I've seen plenty of games from both teams and I can honestly say that Zaragoza are a better team. I can't claim they will definitely win, but with 2.30 odds and the current Zaragoza's form, this is definitely worth taking. The Spaniards are fully motivated, they are aware that a defeat will knock them out of the competition. They are coming after a defeat against Unicaja in Malaga in the Cup finals which is very important and appreciated in Spain. They were defeated by Real, but they had beaten them in 8 games before that. However, Cedevita is nowhere near Real and Zaragoza have a realistic chance of winning this one. They have three great centers, Šermadini, Jones and Norel, who are above Nurkić and Bilan. It is hard to find any position in which Cedevita are stronger and in which they can create the advantage. Their shooter Allan Ray has been playing really well but Zaragoza have the best defender Stefansson for that position. In Tabu and Llompart, they have two PG's that can take on Nolan Smith, whose form hasn't been great at all lately. Baždarić, Zubčić, Luka Babić, Delaš....they're not the players that can make the difference, while Zaragoza have Sanikidze, Rudež, Roll. This is a team that played in the semi-finals of the ACB League last season and they've stayed at that level this season as well. They're even stronger as Šermadini and Sanikidze arrived and Norel recovered. Even though they've lost 6 out 7 away games, Cedevita aren't exactly brilliant at home as they lost two in a row and three out of last four. Details

Ivry lost at Duknerque by 24-21, and it was 24-23 in preparations last month, 22-22 last season. This is no coincidence and it is obvious that Ivry's performance, quite similar to Dunkerque's in terms of strong defense and weaker offense, does not suit the reigning vice-champions. Ivry put up good resistance against PSG lat week, Dunkerque rarely crush any of their opponents in away games - +2 at Nimes, +2 at Aix, -1 at Porto, +3 at Sélestat and Nantes, +4 at Tremblay. They've played 7 league games and they won only one of them by more than 4 goals - 30-25 against Cesson I am convinced they will have some major problems today as well. Details

Skjern are the most efficient team in the league with an average of 30.7 goals and they scored 38 against Ringsted in the first part of the season. Last season, when TMS were much stronger than this season, they conceded 37. Skjern are going into this match pumped up and motivated after the debacle against Sporting and everyone says they want to redeem themselves in front of their fans In such conditions, I believe Ringsted will be heavily defeated which makes handicap or total number of goals for the home team very good options. Details

Things are pretty clear with Karsiyaka, their performance depends on Diebler's and Dixon's shooting and Batista's game in the paint. If this were played away, I would go against them with a high stake, but winning the Cup has brought a certain euphoria to Ismir and things can get pretty wild there. I believe they will forget about three games in four days at the Cup last weekend and play another game in their unique style - lots of three-point shots, offensive basketball that they have been playing throughout the season. They have played 7 games in Eurocup at hom, six of which went over the margin, an the only one that didn't was against Lukoil whom they beat by 84-69. Ulm are much better than Lukoil, and as they have 3-1, they are under less pressure as a win in the home game in the last round will see them through. Their two away games ended at 173 against Nanterre and 203 against Cantu, both without overtime. So, they can play a fast-paced game and I wouldn't be surprised if this went over 160 points. Details

Even when they are much weaker with younger players, Partizan put up good performance at home ,and they were defeated by Vardar by 1 goal and Meškov by 4 goals in last 2 rounds. They have much more quality and width in their back positions and I believe Brković has used the break to organize his team and that they will be able to put up a certain resistance against Zagreb, who also have a lot of youth players in their ranks. A lot of Partizan's hardcore fans are expected at Banjica and Zagreb's players have never played in such atmosphere, all of which should make this an interesting evening in which Partizan should not be written off by default. Zagreb have had their fair share or poor away performances - they beat Borac by 1 goal, Lovćen by 1, Vojvodina by 2, they lost against Meškov, Nexe by 4. Details

I said it all in the prediction for the handicap, I add this one because I think it's worth taking with odds this high. Details

I don't understand why Barcelona are underestimated to this extent. They're travelling to Malaga after beating Olympiakos, Panathinaikos, and Fenerbahce. All three wins were quite convincing. Their form is getting better, the defense has improved, they're game is better, and I don't even have to talk about motivation - Real is providing them with more than enough of it. Even more so because they lost to them two times this season - by four points in Vitoria and 14 points in Madrid. Regardless of the great form and the games Real have been displaying, they cannot be playing such a big role of favorite in this game. I will only mention that they recently lost to CSKA quite convincingly, they barely managed to beat Maccabi home, only because Llull scored two three pointers in the very end. And those two teams both have brilliant defenses. Just like Barcelona. If Barcelona manage to establish their physical dominance, which I'm sure they will, Real can definitely experience some problems. I expect Barcelona to play a tied game, and I even believe that Pascual and Navarro will win the title. Details

Barcelona lost in Valencia last weekend even though they had 51-38 at the half-time. They came unprepared, only two days after a big win in Athens. Valencia scored 33 points in the third period, and turned the game over. Things are completely different today, Barcelona are fully focused and motivated, and even pretty rested after the last night's +42 against Canarias. You can't say the same for Valencia who fought against Laboral till the end, and only got to win thanks to Kutxa miserable shape, Kutxa didn't know how to close the game even though they were leading with over 10+ points difference. Barcelona won't miss out on something like that, they played against Valencia on the last season's King's Cup, and won 16+ in the finals. I think they're a better team at the moment, and Valencia didn't show that they can play as well in the away matches as they can at home. I'm convinced Pascual will take the striking period from them, and then it's a different story. It all points out to Liscuk being out, and without him, they'll have a tall players' deficit in the paint. Details

Lemgo are probably a team that plays the fastest handball in the Bundesleague, and Melsungen are a counter-attack team who do great against rivals like them. Defensive transition has been a problem for Lemgo since the season began, as have the goalies, and the defense. No wonder Melsungen won the first match 38-33, they also crushed Lemgo in the pre-season 37-25. In the two matches last season, Lemgo won 34-29 and 31-28. Lemgo are faster compared to the last season, but Melsungen have more quality. It all points to a match with over 60 goals, so that should be taken. Details

Whoever has any knowledge of handball Champions League and has seen our preview before placing the bets could knew what to go for. Drott have given up on the Champions League a while ago, they are the passers-by here, without any power and particular motivation. The coach has announced the second-string players to get some playing time to feel the atmosphere of the elite competition. They have so far conceded 37, 39, 35 and 37 goals in away games and today they will concede at last that much. Vranješ is disappointed by what his team has shown against Löwen, he asked them to focus on Drott and get a better performance, and as they will not play a Bundesliga match in the following days, even weeks, they will go out in full force here. If they scored 35 and 31 against Velenje and Aalborg, respectively, at home, then this Drott, who conceded 38 against Redsberglids in the last round of the Swedish league, will definitely get a proper "serving". I wouldn't be surprised by 40 goals...Whoever doesn't have this option, going for the handicap is also a good option. Details

Barca won the first head-to-head in Blaugrana by 17 points and Canaria still had their center Sekulić then, who was their MVP up to now. As he went to Istanbul to play under Obradović, Canarias are significantly weakened. And they are usually much weaker away than at the Canary Islands. They are coming to Malaga with a run of four defeats, with the last one against Obradoir by 8 points and they usually lose by 10 points. Strong Valelnica beat them by 25 points and in my opinion, they will lose this one by some 20 points as well. There is no time to relax, Barcelona are coming to defend the title, Pascual has all the major players at his disposal and Canarias are facing something similar to what their neighbors experienced against Real yesterday. Details

The first match of these two this season ended 26-23 for PSG, in the last one in the second part last season 27-22 with PSG at home and 34-22 away in Ivry. So one at 56 and two below 50. Today we're playing under, but not so much because of those scores, more because Gardent decided to rest Abalo and Narcisse, two players who drive the tempo of the game for PSG. With them away they are stuck with Bojinović and Csaczar at middle back, neither of whom plays defense, which automatically influences the transition from defense to offense. I need not explain how much the absence of Abalo influences that. Further on, PSG gave a tragic performance on defense vs St. Raphaël last weekend, and as they're playing the Champions League once again this weekend (Metalurg), I'm convinced they will give a different image this time. Gardent's position is in danger, and every fumble gets him closer to the exit door. Ivry are known to be a defense oriented team, and they will surely hold the defensive end. On offense they will play as much as PSG allows them, or in other words as much as Gardent's stars are motivated. This time I believe they will be... Details

It might seem senseless at first to bet on the team that have recently lost against Gaziantep and Tofaš and with some conviction but Karsiyaka are in poor form. Their Dixon is nowhere near his performances from the start of this season and their game largely depends on him. When he's not playing, they aren't playing. That's how they lost against an average Mersin team last weekend, a team no better than Telekom. Telekom lost against Gaziantep who are currently a play-off candidate and a much better team than Karsiyaka. This game is played in Ankara and Karsiyaka have already been beaten here this season. Telekom will be pumped up and I believe Tunceri, Shipp, Radivojevic, Bogdanovic, and Andric will definitely have a chance against Dixon, Diebler and Batista. Details

Even though it's tricky to play for Skive going over, I factored this risk in the stake. What's this about? Skive are a defensive team that has shown some attacking progress lately and the arrival of another back player who was a solid scorer in the 2nd division will help coach Sorensen who had to play the first part of the season with lots of playing time for his three back players. Their opponent for today is the main reason for this tip. Ribe play a fast transition game, they have offensive defense and their first game ended in 63 goals, while all three head-to-heads have gone over the today 49.5-goal margin that can be found with many bookmakers. I have no doubt Ribe's coach will look for running and faster pace as their back court is not made for long possession and 6-on-6 game. They have no shooters that can penetrate Skive's 6-0 and they have to go for fast goals. In the last 2 games, Skive played a 57-goal game against Arhus and 49-point against Nordsjaelland in the derby of the bottom. I think this can go over 50. Details

Buckman's injury cost Besiktas a lot. We saw it against Cedevita last Wednesday when we also had a tip against Besiktas. There is no reason to change something today; Cedevita were up by 10 points and Galatasaray are currently better than Cedevita by some 10 points. Considering the character of the game and the city derby, there will be not letting go here. Galata have had enough time to recover after their Euroleague win against Žalgiris and after they had lost their last round in the Beko League I see them as additionally motivated. Besiktas are very thin in the rotation and I don't see a position in which they are better than Galata, which makes this a very logical tip. Details

Finals on a neutral court can hardly have a favorite, and the odds that the bookmakers have given for today don't correspond to reality. St. Raphael already defeated Montpellier this season, and after they defeated PSG yesterday thanks to penalty kicks, and also made up for 0-6 and -4 in the second part, they showed character, and I believe they can go through. Omeyer saved Montpellier yesterday by saving 21 goal, and Dunkerque's offense is weaker than St. Raphael's offense at the moment. Barachet came back to St. Raphael's offense and showed he's in a good shape. Coach Gaudin even has a wider rotation than Canayer on the Montpellier's bench, I'd say, and it's not that hard to see them winning this. Unibet have an interesting "football" option DNB with nice odds, so I think St. Raphael's win is worth it, as is the +1.5 handicap that's widely available in many bookmakers. Details

According to the stats, this is one of the biggest misconceptions today. Aliaga and Selcuk often played games that were closer to 200 than 150 points this season. However, that was before. Who even is acquainted with the Beko League knows that ever since Selcuk signed Bekir as their coach, they've limited all three of their rivals - Mersin, Efes, and Besiktas to less than 70 points. They're defense had improved greatly, and this game is the more important one since Bekir took over. Aliaga are the last team in the table, Selcuk right next to them with two wins more. If they win today, Aliaga will be going south rapidly. They are well aware of that, and today's game will be like a final for them, they even signed two new players for it. Talking about things such as good organization is ridiculous but I don't doubt the motivation will be high today - and that will be visible in defense. Finally, their first head to head game from the beginning of the season, when things were not as tense and both teams had different coaches, ended at 159 points scored. Details

These two teams are equal with their game style, they look for jumps in the offense, so there's a risk because when you focus on the offensive jump then you give your opponent a chance to transit if you don't do your jump. Joventut are the first in the league with their jumps, and they also base a lot of action on the three pointer shots. Traditionally, their matches end with a high number of total points, so at the beginning of the season, they had 90-78 in Manresa, and before the season, in the Catalonian League semi-finals, 82-78. Manresa played efficiently in the last two official matches, against the defensively good teams, Canarias and Gran Canaria. Since they won those, there's no pressure, they can play freely and look for their chances that are definitely there. I believe this match will end with +160 points. Details

At the moment, the biggest difference between these two teams is in psychological terms. Fuenlabrada have wins against Valladolid and Laboral Kutxa while Murcia have lost their last two games by over 30 points. But that's not the reaslistic image of this team as they have recently bolstered their ranks with great Mickael who is in much better form than expected. Last week, they played a tight first half against Zaragoza and then lost the third period by 38-11. Zaragoza pushed them to the limits as they needed the point difference for the Cup and they destroyed Murcia with their defense. Fuenlabrada don't have a defense like Zaragoza and we will not see a game like that today. Murcia won the first head to head by 20 and Fuenlabrada have switch Pank, their main player, the the no.3 position where Murica have a great defender in Mickeal. Nurcia have five wins in last 6 head-to-head and I believe they will put up great resistance today and stay in the game until the very end. Fuenlabrada have covered this handicap against three teams from the bottom - Estudiantes, Manresa and Valladolid. True, Murcia are a bottom team but I still believe Murcia have more quality than the mentioned trio and that they can play a game on a par with Fuenlabrada. Details

Looking only in terms of stats, this tip does not look good, but the stats don't play the vital role here. Their low-scoring games have generally come against defensively-minded teams, as was the game both of these teams played on Wednesday. Sonderjyske beat Skive by 24-20 and Nordsjaelland lot by 28-23 against Arhus away. However, we have two teams that like to run, that need to run, and Nordsjaelland can't win this game against organized defense and that's what their coach Fog thinks, too. The have no back court that can penetrate the zone and they will look for transition in every possible situation. The first game between the two teams shows this as it ended in 57 goals. Seeing how both teams have reinforced themselves since - the visitors with pivot Dragičević and the home team with back player Koser, I expect this to be around 55 goals. Details