Although the great Peru series ended with a loss to the Arsenal team, the form remained, and even at home games against Nottingham, who are fighting for survival, there is a great chance to return to the Peru series. At home, Aston Villa won 4 out of 5 times, and their record of 10 wins at home against Aston Villa shows a strong advantage, which I believe should once again be proven.

Although unable to fully compete with Benfica, Porto, or Sporting, Braga is still the 4th best team in Portugal. It is not worth trusting the average teams in the league against Braga, especially when their recent form has been very good. Braga will not have Horta, who is the team captain, but even without him, the team is significantly stronger and in good form, so they should celebrate a victory over Peru.

Gorō is an obvious outsider and receives a lot of criticism from everyone, but at home they have not yet been defeated by more than 32 points. They have only lost by a larger margin 3 times, but all of those were away games. Their biggest defeat was against Gorzow with a score of 102-47, but Gorzow's team was strengthened by the presence of Reid, who was the top scorer with 15.5 points, while newcomer Osborne has only scored 6 points in the 3 games played so far.

Sakkari Maria - a 30-year-old Greek, formerly a top player at 3rd rank in the 2022 WTA, but after a serious injury in Ghana in 2024, her results significantly decreased at the US Open. Of course, she is still capable of playing in the early stages of tournaments, but her progress in Japan and Peru has been noticeable, and she has a strong desire to play. Additionally, the last time they played, the win was for the Greek player, so there are good chances for Japan.

Osaka Naomi was also an elite player at the WTA 1 rank in 2019, but for some time she showed no desire to play and didn't even try. However, last season she showed her eagerness to play and had a good season, which brought her back to the high rank of WTA 16. Evaluating the previous season, Sakkari's chances here are very minimal.

Sakkari Maria - a 30-year-old Greek, formerly a top player at WTA 3 in 2022, but after a serious injury in 2024 US Open, her results significantly decreased. Of course, she was able to play in the early stages of the tournaments, but her progress in Japan and Peru shows a desire to play and the last H2H win for the Greek was a long time ago, so there are good chances for Japan.
Osaka Naomi was also an elite WTA 1 player in 2019 and for a while didn't show much effort, but last season she showed a desire to play and her results improved, with her reaching the high WTA 16 ranking. Judging from last season's performance, Sakkari's chances here are very minimal.

Littler is the clear favorite remaining, the first seed in the world, but I wouldn't say that Searle is such an underdog here. Searle has never won against Littler before, but he is currently at the peak of his career and playing very well. He closes out over 50% of his doubles. He only lost 2 sets until the semifinals, Littler also did, but Searle played against much stronger opponents. I believe that Searle has a chance to surprise here and possibly win his first title, if not on the highest stage.

WTA Brisbane, hard court. Qualifications..

WTA Brisbane, hard court. Qualifications...

The scary form and a streak of losses with no chances of even reaching the group stage of the Eurocup show that the Ulm team must win at home. Lietkabelis, a very poor away team with only 1 win against Panionios, who defeats everyone. Although, as usual, the people of Panevėžys will put up a fight, the weak and constantly changing composition does not seem like a serious team, and even Čanakas himself can do nothing, so Ulm must celebrate the win at home.

In this season, both teams' offenses seem to have NBA-level players, with whom they have been scoring a lot of points. The Pao team has been affected by injuries, but enough time has passed for them to recover, and they are also given the favorite label for this match. The total points between the two teams seem to be relatively low, considering how they have been playing and how many points they have been scoring, so the over seems like a very logical option.

Although the newcomers to the European Cup, Neptūnas, are surprising in this tournament, with so many injuries it is very difficult for them. Venezia arrives and, even though the Italian club plays poorly on the road and is not in the best form, looking at their roster, they seem like a strong and clear favorite. So, Neptūnas' NBA style of basketball creates a unique challenge for everyone, but I think the Italians are more solid, and when they already beat a full-strength Neptūnas by 20 points at home, I believe we can expect the same from them in Klaipėda.

Even in first place after Portugal, Gil Vicente is a complete outsider against Sporting. In great form and only losing points against top teams or in the Champions League, Sporting has returned to their former dominant style. Their superb defense and strong offense dictate the conditions in every match, and I believe that Sporting, who easily defeats their opponents, is a very confident choice.

Milan, demonstrating stability, is only 1 point behind Inter, and not participating in Europe allows the team to prepare well and play in the Serie A league in every match. As one of the better away teams, I believe Milan not only needs to perform solidly, but also win against Cagliari who are fighting to avoid relegation.

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.

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.