By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
Three games of great interest are on the calendar of the EuroLeague for Friday, with the games at the Olympic Sports Center in Athens (Panathinaikos–Fenerbahce) and in Moscow (CSKA-Barcelona) standing out.
Galatasaray – Milan
Galatasaray are coming off the defeat by Panathinaikos, which hurt them, and the showdown against Milan, who are on a downward path, is certainly a good opportunity for them to return to winning ways. The Italians won’t have Gentile at their disposal since he moved to Athens to join Panathinaikos on a loan, but they’re counting four consecutive defeats, now having a 4-7 record, just one win more than their opponents. The point limit that is given is rather high (164,5) when we think about the last few games of the two teams, but certainly fair if we consider the defenses of the two teams, which are the two worst in the competition. Offensively, both teams are rather disorganized, so we’re going with the Over (@Stoiximan 1,75).
CSKA Moscow – Barcelona
In the first big derby of this round, CSKA Moscow want to maintain their undefeated record at home against Barcelona, who are trying to recover from the injuries and the consecutive defeats (four in the last five games). The Russian team certainly has an advantage, which is going to become even bigger if De Colo gets back in the shape he was prior to his injury. However, the 10,5-point handicap in a game like this is huge. The Catalans can appear competitive and make things hard for the European champions and at least defend the handicap in their favor (@Sportingbet 1,75).
Panathinaikos – Fenerbahce
Panathinaikos are hosting Fenerbahce, wanting to defend the good tradition they’ve built against Turkish teams in the Olympic Sports Center in Athens. The greens have 6-5 wins, managing to get a second win in a row only once this season. Zeljko Obradovic’s team already has four wins in a row again, leaving the “crisis” of the three consecutive defeats well behind. The greens have been keeping their opponents at a very low score in recent games, but with K. C. Rivers in doubt until the last moment it seems that the limit of 75,5 points for the Turkish team is too low. So, we’re betting on Fenerbahce’s Over (@Stoiximan 1,80).
The choices
Galatasaray – Milan Over 164,5 points
CSKA Moscow – Barcelona (+10,5) 2
Panathinaikos – Fenerbahce Fenerbahce Over 75,5 points