The Romanian league, the league leaders welcome the league champions and I am trying to bet on BTS in this meeting. These are two of the strongest attacking teams in the league, with Craiova scoring a total of 46 points out of 26 matches, and constantly putting pressure with their 27 goals scored in 10 home games. On the other hand, FCSB is not having a great season, but still sits in the Top 5 in terms of goals scored with 39, and this season they have been particularly prolific in away games with 24 goals scored in their 13 visits. Although there is a 9-position difference between the two teams, the visiting team from Peru has the chance to close the gap in the race for the title by only 7 points. I think we can expect an open and competitive game between these two teams that will fight for victory. Just 3 days ago, these teams met in the cup and ended up in a 2-2 draw, so I am expecting a similar thrilling match here.
Both teams are in desperate need of points, as if Wolfsburg were to save some points, it would be equivalent to a loss for Leipzig. Leipzig's game is wavering, but points are necessary for European positions and even possibly for the Champions League. The home attack is strong, but they have lost two consecutive games here. Wolfsburg has the second worst defense in the league, but they are able to score goals. It's just a situation where one of the teams will not have a positive score and will be forced to take risks.
Overachieving teams that have been shocking in recent times. Both teams have opportunities, but they fail to take advantage of them. Basel, in particular, has fallen into a rut and their defense looks poor, but they are a truly high-level team. Lugano has been seen several times this season, often playing an open game. There should be a lot of chances for both teams here, it's important that they have decent finishing.
The Valencia Derby, which is eagerly awaited, will not disappoint, as in the first matches that took place at the Valencia stadium, there was no shortage of cards and a total of 8 were shown. Today, the situation on the table is even worse for Levante, as the team is already 5 points away from a safe place in the relegation zone. Valencia is also only slightly above the relegation zone, so both teams will be aiming for a win, especially Levante, who needs it more. Although the referee Ortiz is not a fan of showing a lot of cards, this season there have been 54 cards in 15 matches, which is slightly below average, with less than 4 cards per match. However, considering that this is a derby, I believe we will see at least 6 cards.
Pinar is far from what we were used to seeing in previous seasons, Galatasaray needs to choose Peru in the local league and their form is truly excellent, a team more oriented towards offense, although they don't always manage to play efficiently due to low percentages, but Peru has a lot of talent and it surpasses its rivals in all aspects. They looked great against Fenerbahce, where they were just short of defeating Peru, then they played well against Le Mans and now their opponent is much weaker. It is important to have motivation and to overpower their opponents, knowing that many teams in the Galatasaray team will be vying for a higher position and to avoid pitfalls in the earlier stages, they should not lack motivation.
Pinar is far from what we were used to seeing in previous seasons, Galatasaray needs to choose Peru in the local league and their form is truly good, with a team more focused on offense, although they don't always achieve efficient results due to low percentages, they have a lot of talent in Peru and in all aspects they outshine their opponents. They looked great against Fener, where they were close to beating Peru, then played well against Le Mans and now their opponent is much weaker, it's important for them to have motivation and wash over their opponents, knowing that they need more than just Peru in order to secure a higher position and avoid eliminations in the earlier stages, motivation should not be lacking.
I believe that Hearts will not create a story of ashes this season, both Celtic and Rangers are climbing to the top, and even without their main attacking leader Shankland, who scored an impressive amount of goals for us this season, Hearts will play today. Rangers' team seems to have recovered after a tragic start to the season, and with 9 consecutive wins in all competitions in front of their fans, they have only conceded 2 goals in this series. If Rangers win today, they will be only 2 points behind Hearts, and I think they will take the victory in front of their passionate fans at the iconic Ibrox stadium.
High scoring total for Cisco in LKL as a backup, even with a low coefficient I believe we can take it. In LKL this year, Cisco averages 9.8 points per game as he doesn't have to play with his full potential and it's not necessary for Zalgiris when they have such a deep rotation in the guard position. There won't be any double-game weeks and there won't be any other EuroLeague games, so most likely Cisco will play but I don't think he will get a lot of minutes. Players like Sirvydas and Igoris will lead Zalgiris more than Cisco, he only scored 15+ points twice in LKL this year, with his last game being in the middle of November against Rytas and the other one against Lietkabelis who also participates in European tournaments.
Alba has caught very good form and is in great shape, making this team very dangerous and a favorite in every game in Germany (except with Bayern). The Bambergo team is also in good form, but the team's ability is clearly weaker and they do not have stability, so Alba seems like the obvious choice.
The Milan club, which is currently on an 11-game winning streak, will face a very favorable team from Peru. Despite Cremona being perceived as an average team in the league, Milan is no mystery to them. Just at the end of December, Milan won against Cremona by 17 points at home. Now, with the Euroleague game approaching, one can expect the main lineup and a solid difference in performance from the Peruvian team against Milan.
Paris, after a successful trip to Peru against Barcelona, now also confidently has to defeat one of the weakest teams in the league. The Quentin team has a series of 4 losses, all of which were lost with a margin of 9+ points. Today, Paris at home easily beat their opponents by 30 points, so they should also have a similar result with 15 points on the road.
I am eagerly awaiting the fan's cheer. The team plays well, but the results are not perfect, we need to come down to earth before the cup. Sara, and maybe the whole team, will drink after the game against Pao, so I am expecting sluggishness and lack of energy from them, the Turks will try to show off, but Ankara is capable of taking care of them.
In the first round, the teams played equally and Leganes won 68-61 at home, but Estudiantes was not in the best form at the time. After those games, they replaced the head coach and Garrick arrived. After those games, Estudiantes gained stability and now fully believe in them at home.
Leeds at home is a very dangerous team, even in the EPL, but away from home they are not doing well. Birmingham has invested a lot of money in recent seasons, has a strong lineup, and should come to the EPL soon. Although they are currently in the middle of the Championship, they are one of the better teams in the league at home, and are only a few points away from a playoff spot. I don't think there will be many changes in Birmingham today, because after spending so much money, they want to see some results, so it would be some form of achievement to go far in the FA Cup.
Maybe they are not the fastest teams in the league, but both are strong defensively. Tortona is currently in second place in the league according to offensive rating, only behind the team from Brescia. Sassari is in the middle of the table, but both teams rank 2nd and 3rd respectively in the league for defense. The game should not change from the last match where both teams scored 176 points before the overtime.
The real game away is a tragedy this season. They barely lost to Partizan, even though they had complete control, but let everything slip away. Unicaja is a good team, playing at the Euroleague level and performing poorly in the first half of the season, but now showing better results. These games are very important to them, while Real may also have some pressure, as they have almost secured the first place in the ACB.
The Basque derby, there is often everything, but today I am waiting for a positive result from Baskonia. We really need Peru Baskonia, who seem unable to win away games, but with the arrival of the Euroleague, all attention will be on today's match. Bilbao has a streak of 10 consecutive wins, but recently Baskonia has won 4 derbies in a row and in any case, more attention is given here.