The Champions League is back and the knockout stage begins. Galatasaray welcomes Juventus in the early match and I think BTS. Gala will give a good fight at home to Juve, as their team is full of talented attackers and in this year's edition of the CL, they have scored against both Liverpool and Atletico at home. Add to that the fact that Juventus' defense has not been in top form, with 9 goals conceded in their last 4 matches, and it seems likely that the Turkish club will make their mark. As for Juve themselves, it's clear that they are the favorites in this match, as under Spalletti they have shown a great attacking game and have been scoring quite often. But they also have some games where they struggle to score, such as their recent loss against Inter. Overall, Juve's performances have been attractive, even when playing with 10 men. Personally, I think a 1-1 or 1-2 result is realistic here.
It seems like such a big deal, this total against the KMT. Some are looking towards the approaching semifinals, while others are already on vacation. Rytas emotionally charged themselves up against Neptunas, but they let chaos reign against Siauliai, which is not their usual style. The referees, facing a lot of criticism, should use their penalties wisely, which should be a lesson for them. Winning the game, the referees should maintain normal contact.
If Aris plays effectively this season, even though they are not powerhouse team, Maroussi is a completely inconsistent team with a strong offense, but undoubtedly the worst defense in the Greek league. In my opinion, only strong offensive teams could have a chance against Aris, because when it comes to defensive basketball, the advantage would be for Aris. Maroussi plays at a high pace, while Aris is not at the bottom of the table in terms of pace.
Since the cup and this format is always more favorable for underdogs, I will try Erokspor. While Fenerbahce is a solid team, not all players are able to prepare for such competitions, many are already thinking about the finals before even qualifying for them. Erokspor has gathered an interesting group of players, including Pangos and Lithuanian player Jermaine Love, as well as Galloway with NBA experience. They play solidly this season and have ambitious goals. I am looking forward to a fierce battle.
Even though they are in the lead, the total score seems a bit small. Turk Telekom is the fastest team in the Turkish league, with a solid offense and defense. But when facing such opponents today, it will be difficult not to get involved in a more productive basketball game. Trabzonspor is a completely offensive team, with their offense only being surpassed by Fenerbahces. They have a good offense, but at the same time a weak defense, which is why they play such high-scoring games.
Challenge Cup, men.. quarter-finals, second leg match. The Belgians at home after a tough battle overcame Peru, against the favorites PAOK from Greece. Today is a different tune.. PAOK - a more solid legion, with experience in the international arena. In the round of 16, the Greeks lost the first away game, but at home they confidently secured a victory (won 3-0). Although the Belgian club is not just "pushovers", today PAOK will do everything at home and will settle things with Peru.
Two identical teams, based on results and promoting attacking and taking BTS here. The teams are separated by 1 point, and both are fighting for a spot in the playoffs, with identical scores/goals scored Wrexham 44 goals and Bristol City 43 goals in 31 matches. However, the number of goals conceded, 39 and 38 respectively, shows that both teams have better attacking skills, but unreliable defenses, so I believe we can at least expect a 1-1 outcome.
I believe that after the Australian Open win, it's been only 2 weeks, Alcaraz might have a memorable hangover. And here, with a server bot, he immediately has to face someone who he played against 4 times before, and I wouldn't say that at least one of those times he didn't completely destroy the Frenchman. The closest was at the US Open where he won 7-6 6-3 6-4 last year, and I had the chance to watch that match and Alcaraz was in his peak form and could cover any set combination with an Over. It is possible to try under 19.5 with a higher coefficient, but I will stick with 18.5, so that there wouldn't be two overs in any set. Even though Carlos is known for that, I think it will be extremely difficult against the Frenchman's serve. It should be a 6-3, 6-4, but I wouldn't be surprised if he could drag at least one set up to a tiebreak. By the way, all 4 times they've played, at least one set went over 7 winning games.
The Dortmund team is very solid at home, while Atalanta's team instability only increases their chances. In the Serie A league, Atalanta is only in 9th place for the points earned away from home, so away games are by no means successful for them, while the Dortmund team is the better home team in Germany and even surpasses Bayern.
This season, Monaco looks particularly bad and even though PSG is not playing as well as last season, the Parisian club still plays very well. Monaco, who is missing many players due to injuries, is a significantly weaker club, while PSG is able to play very well in the Champions League, so they should have an advantage from the first knockout matches.
It is likely that we will see 3 maps and an intense battle. I believe it is probable that PV will win at least one map. Currently, both teams are not in their best form, so there is no guarantee for either team. Parivision struggled against Faze today, they had to come back again. FURIA lost, but they played against a strong team in Falcons, and the battle was intense there as well. Of course, if FURIA plays according to their top form and/or PV has a very bad day, it could end in a 2-0 victory for the Brazilians. But if we rely on the forms of both teams, it should be a close fight. PV's odds are too high.
It's somewhat difficult to watch G2, as they are a top 10 team but lack stability. Of course, it's not easy to constantly be a team, when the riflers are of high level but everyone lacks consistent performance. G2 also has a similar problem to FaZe, where they have a very poor AWPer who doesn't play at a tier 1 level. Logically, based on current form and overall level, G2 should easily handle Heroic, as they did with pain today. I'm just saying, G2 lacks stability at times.
Two teams that have been very productive in recent games. Although the first games in the Champions League knock-outs are not usually very high-scoring, in this match we can expect attacking football from Turkey. Galatasaray likes to attack and often concedes with a weak defense, while Juventus' recent results show that the team is favorable to high-scoring games.
Dry morning at home Rytas lost to Utena club and now we need to hope for a different face of the Vilnius team. Everyone is realistically healthy and there must be a large focus from the morning against KMT. Utena is a weak team with many problems, which Rytas will exploit and at least win in Utena, although it may seem very good minus.
The weakest team in the league against one of the most interesting. Gargzdai's team may have their own problems, but this season they are showing a very confident game and stability. Good play and serious basketball players make us expect great things from them, as they seem to be superior and also managed to win against Jonava in January.