The festive evening, many thoughts will not be about the game, but about the upcoming celebration. The Hawks' roster does not inspire confidence, with big roles even taken by secondary players, such as Krejci. The Wolves are capable of grabbing them firmly by the throat and not allowing easy breathing, the roster is full. Due to Young's unclear status and many changes, the team is unbalanced. I hope this will not be reflected in the quality of their offense.
Festive evening, many thoughts will not be at the game, but at the upcoming celebration. The Hawks' composition does not inspire, and even in attack, they receive secondary players, such as Krejci. The Wolves are capable of taking them strictly by the throat and not allowing them to breathe easily, the composition is full. Because of Young's uncertainty in the game, with numerous changes, the team is unbalanced. I hope this will be reflected in their offensive quality.
This is the last season for Wawrinka, so it is realistic that the legendary Swiss player will be well prepared, not to mention that this is one of his last matches for the Swiss team, so his motivation should be high. The Frenchman is not a great tennis player and his high ranking is only due to a string of successful tournaments, but currently he is not in form and without it, it will be difficult for him. I believe the sets will be long and in a tiebreak, I trust in the experience and ability of the Swiss to play well. Wawrinka always fights in every match, so he should at least win a set against the Frenchman from Peru.
Pulis wins here, signs of recovery have been visible lately but let's not call it championship football. Peru have returned to the reds four times in a row with the CL lineup and also play at home. Catching a taste of Peru, I truly believe that Liverpool will win against Leeds in front of their fans, although Leeds themselves have recovered and seem to be a team that will fight for a top 5 spot. In my opinion, their performance in this series has been an overachievement, mainly playing better football at home. I believe Pulis will take 3 points in front of their fans and secure victory. It's not very important right now that Salah and Isak are out, as we should consider what kind of seasons these players have had and who they have played for.
Placing a bet that the MIN team wins and both teams score 120+ points. The Hawks have been very overreliant this year but are currently going through a tough stretch, with no defense but with Young's scoring ability, the team has a lot of offensive potential. The Hawks gather a lot of points even in losses, with 5 out of 7 losses resulting in 120+ points, even scoring 129 against Oklahoma, as I predicted their defense is inconsistent. Against Minnesota, I believe it will be a similar type of game and based on that, the 3.6 coefficient for betting on the Hawks seems like a worthwhile option.
I am going with Booker today, as the opponent is one that will require a higher contribution than the recent games the Suns have had from Booker. In the past four games, including the last two, Booker has only scored 3 out of 4 three-pointers, but he has been averaging the same amount this season. I believe that as a regular NBA star, after a period of unsuccessful games, he should be able to bounce back. Scoring 26 points for this player is definitely not a problem, and he may even surpass that. The Cavs team and their defense are not as strong as in previous years, and this is the perfect opportunity for Booker to show his skills. Playing against Mitchell, who is one of the best SGs in the league, always brings out the potential in a player to play above their average.
Saudi league, I would say interestingly high coefficient for Under as the most underdog team, Al Shabab, has only generated 20 goals in 10 games and they are the lowest scoring team this season with only 7 goals. They will be facing Al Qadisiyah team, which is not known for their goal scoring abilities, with an average of 1.7 goals per game. This season, they are far from being one of the top offensive teams in the Saudi league. I predict not only Under, but also both teams will not score as the home team is not very productive and it is not logical to expect a high total score. It could end in a 0-1 or 0-2 result, but not over.
Matas Buzelis collects 14 points per game in 32 played matches and recently has been consistently reaching a double-digit number of points. When playing against Pelicans from Lithuania, who have one of the worst defenses in the NBA, one can expect a good performance, as Giddey is out due to injury and Coby White did not finish the game against Timberwolves. The game is at home and although we would like to see Lithuania pay more attention to the basket and be more willing to finish attacks, overall I think this choice looks pretty good.
The complete NBA underdogs, the Pacers, have a tough matchup against the undersized Peru team and without their leader Haliburton, they seem unable to succeed in their games. After such a start, it's possible that the team will be fighting for draft picks and will try to lose everything this season. The Magic, on the other hand, is a team fighting for the playoffs and although they may seem wavering, they are not facing many questions in this meeting. The Magic is also facing problems with injuries, with the Wagner brothers being sidelined, but with a 9-game losing streak, the Pacers don't seem strong enough to beat the Magic. Even though the ball is round, I believe the Magic's leader's ambitions were dampened after their last game against the Raptors, which they lost due to his missed three-pointer. So, with everything taken into consideration, the motivation for the Magic should still be there and that could be the key to victory against Peru.
I am trying again with LaMelo's points+assists, but after two attempts it didn't work out, so why not try again. Finally, Melo seems to be in form and closer to his version from previous seasons, where statistically he was much better with 29 points+assists. In 6 matches after a little break, LaMelo reached this number 4 times and scored at least 20 points in all 6 matches. Tonight's game against Curry and the Warriors, I believe, will be an extra motivation for LaMelo and he will exceed his average.
I take this with excitement because it seems that the coefficients for City should drop. With the team recovering and fighting for the title again this year, our goal-scoring has made us the most productive league with better GD at the moment. The same winter crisis seems to be hitting Chelsea as every year, and they will also be without Caicedo who is suspended, which is a huge loss for their defense. I believe that City will defeat Chelsea in a safe manner and this will open up a lot of opportunities for us to score and I am optimistic that this will be a big win for us.
United cup is the start of the season, so I would say that both tennis players have a similar chance. On hard surface, Munar has the advantage, but when these players enter the season, I do not see such a significant advantage for the Spaniard. Baez had a very poor season, but just like Munar, that is all in the past, and when the players' game is similar in terms of ranking or height, I don't think there should be a big advantage, and 4 games potentially seems safer, as both had a tough battle on clay surface twice and we could feel the advantage from Baez.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is playing for his country with additional motivation, and even after a very poor season, the Greek should be ready to dominate again. He is a solid tennis player and when focused against someone like Japanese player Peru, he should be able to win 2-0. Although the Japanese player Shintaro Mochizuki has experienced five consecutive losses before winning a set, it will be difficult to expect a win against the Greek. Both players are not in their best form, but I believe this only increases Tsitsipas' chances in this case.