betprepare.com

This text will be published soon. Details

This text will be published soon. Details

This text will be published soon. Details

This text will be published soon. Details

This text will be published soon. Details

This text will be published soon. Details

I'll start with the fact Serbia's preparations for this European championship were turbulent. The injuries hit them hard and not many of their players were without problems during that time. Mihajlovic are far from ideal form and they're Serbia's top players. Let's just add that Antonijevic is out as well. Serbia are not in form, as their friendly games to Bulgaria (two defeats) and Turkey (two defeats) proved. They managed to get one win over Turkey.
Serbia admit to be favorites against the Czech Republic but it won't be easy and they will have a much tougher game to the qualifying game for WC in May. Serbia did great back then, trashed all the opponents and beat the Czechs in straight sets, by 15 points. Some of their players were in better form than now but they had Mihajovic.
The Czechs have Havelkova, they're better than in May and did well in WC qualifiers and have Grand Prix during which they tested players. They lost to Belgium closely in WC qualifiers and to the Dutch who did great there. Serbia are not the Dutch. Bulgaria beat Serbia twice away before this championship and the Czechs lost to then 3-1 by 8 points. The 17,5 is a lot. Even 15,5 is a lot. I would personally set this at 13,5. Serbia are, in my opinion, not capable of beating the Czechs. I don't think there are relevant games here but Serbia came to Azerbaijan with a lot of problems so they don't even know what to expect. It's only important that they start with any kind of a win. Details

A month ago at the final Grand Prix tournament, China beat Brazil 3-0. After that the Chinese lost to Italy in the semis and Italy lost to Brazil in the five-set final.
China were main contenders for the title before that semifinal and this is their chance to make amends. They are better than a month ago since they can count on some players who weren't there. Brazil redesigned their team because of China, after they beat Brazil in the Olympic QFs. Only two players from that match will be there today. Brazil were struggling against Russia yesterday, before that lost easily in the first friendly to the US. They won the second one 3-1 but the US didn't play with the top team. China trashed the best US team yesterday. Since this is played in Japan, it's going to be too early for Brazil and just perfect time for China, who should record another win. Details

Cameroon were at the Rio Olympics yesterday. They reached Brazil by beating Algeria in semis in straight sets by 21 point. This is now played on neutral grounds whereas that was played in Cameroon. In Rio, Cameroon played a good game with Argentina, Russia and South Korea. Algeria are far from that level and I'm sure they would have lost every game at the Olympics convincingly. Last year at Grand Prix, they lost to Peru by 38 and 46, to Cuba by 30, to Croatia by 24, to Kazakhstan by 40 and Mexico by 17. I think Cameroon are better than Mexico. They destroyed Algeria through blocking last time and they're much better physically. They were better at serving and reception and have a few players that play in France. I think handicap is better than a straight-set win. They beat Egypt in the Olympic qualifiers final by 17 points. The handicap should be at least 2-3 points higher. Details

The Dutch are favorites because of last two seasons (Olympic Games semis and runner-ups at European Championship). All of that happened when Guidetti was their coach and the team was ready. He had enough time to get their at top form for those competitions. Morrison took over this season and is only getting to know the team. That is why the Dutch aren't brilliant here.
They did much less than Azerbaijan so far, lost a set to Israel and to Ukraine. The Ukraine match was a struggle. Azerbaijan trashed Ukraine 3-0.
Another reason to bet at Azerbaijan is the home court advantage. The arena is always packed and today won't be any different.
I believe the refs will make some calls for them as well.
They are to host the European Championship this year and want to do well there.
We have the match from two years ago at European Games. That was also an important meeting and the bookies set odds similar to these and the Dutch had the same team. When it comes to Azerbaijan, they are without setter Kurt but Yagubova is just as good. They have the well-experienced Mammadova from top European team Volero too. Details

Bulgaria will fight Turkey for the top spot. They trashed Switzerland to start off yesterday. Romania are better but they are without some key players from the last EC qualifiers. Romania lost twice in those qualifiers to Bulgaria in straight sets rather badly. Bulgaria are now better than ever, while Romania aren't as good as before. Bulgaria beat Azerbaijan in test matches while Romania lost one game to Slovakia and won one. Slovakia were the easy pray at that tournament last week. I expect Bulgaria to win this easily. Details

These two teams already met 6 times this season. Vakif won 5 times, while Eczacibasi won at the start of the season, at Club WC. This is Game 1 of the series for spot 3. It's a very important one because the thord best team in the Turkish championship is set to CL next season. Eczacibasi won just one set in the last 3 matches these teams played. The last time they met was in Italy, in CL semis, 6 days ago. Vakif won in straight sets (25-20, 26-24 and 25-22). Unlike that match, this one will not be played on neutral grounds. Eczacibasi are the home team here but this is the arena in which Vakif played as the home team both this and previous seasons. Unlike in the CL, three forign players can be in the game at the same time. Vakif have 4 of those, Eczacibasi 6- We can expect Vakif to start without Hill. In that case, team captain Sonsirma is to start. On the other hand, their opponents will have to be without two foreigners who played the CL semifinals. Vakif are in great atmosphere after winning the CL. Their confidence is high, we can say they used less energy at the Final Four because their opponents played longer for spot 3 than they did in the final. Matches that are relevant for this are those from the championship. Vakif won both of those, the last one mid-February in straight sets (25-13, 25-20, 25-23). Judging by what we saw last week, Vakifbank are in a far better form, they should be even better today. The atmosphere on the team is better, confidence as well, they have Zhu Ting, who was the MVP of CL FF. She should make the difference in this game. I think the win for Vakif should not be at over 1,60. Guidetti is a winning coach and he will not lose this. Details

Both of these clubs started the European season in the Champions League, and they were both eliminated by Dynamo Krasnodar. Khimik in the second round after two defeats in the 5th set, and Vizura in the third round after winning at home 3-2, and losing in straight sets at Krasnodar. Khimik lost to Krasnodar by 20 points at home, and 8 away, Vizura won 10 points more than Krasnodar at home, 11 less away. That is where the handicap is set today, and after that Khimik played against Romanian Targoviste and won both games but in the fifth set. The first one ended at 210 points, and even though Khimik won they won 10 points less than opponents. In the second game they were at 214 points and they won 8 points more. In that second game, Khimik were similar favorites like today against Vizura. Stepancek, Khimik's libero, compared Targoviste and Vizura: - In my opinion, Vizura are a better team than Targoviste, they play very fast. They attack faster from the zone four, they have great young players, we have a big fight ahead of us. Vizura are coming back to European games after 2 and a half months, with the elimination from the CL they reached the CEV Cup round of 16. In the meantime they struggled with injuries, but managed to fulfill their plans, they are second in the championship, and reached the Cup Final Four. They are now complete and eagerly anticipating this European clash. - We prepared for a long time for February and the most important games so far. CEV Cup is important for us and we will go to Ukraine complete and we hope to have good news there. Khimik are the favorites in the first game, but our ambition is to advance - said Vizura's coach, Baltic. He rested his best player Eric in the last championship game, which shows how serious they are about this game. I doubt Khimik will win this easily, they are not a team that demolishes their opponents. Last year, when they were stronger, they defeated Finnish Kangasala away by 16, but that is not a team of Vizura's quality. They lost at home by 19 and advanced after a 'golden set'. Before that they defeated Nantes by 10, lost to German Schweriner by 16 and 18. This is an open match-up, Khimik are overly favored, Vizura have a young team but they are experienced, last year they played in the Champions League Group Stage and even defeated Cannes. In my opinion, this margin is by at least three points too high. Details

Krasnoyarsk are definitely underrated here. Their 5-1 score and the leading position are ignored. They play good volleyball, and deserve that first place. The coach Holotov who joined them this season is very good, and he's got a good record from when he was coaching Khimki - two CEV cup quarterfinals, one Challenge cup semifinal - he's definitely a better coach than Pancenko who's leading Dynamo Moscow. Pancenko's got better players, but Dynamo are weaker than last year. They lost a home derby to Kazan, a set to not particularly strong Odintsov, two to Uralochka. Their only valuable result is 3-0 against Krasnodar who aren't nearly as strong as last season. They even lost to the rejuvenated Vizura in the Champions League. Both teams got placed to the Final Four cup, and Dynamo have a lot to worry about before this game. Even when they played better last season, and Krasnoyarsk worse than now, they still lost. Krasnoyarsk won 77 points then. The hosts will be complete for this game and they want to win. The support from the stands is also on Krasnoyarsk's side. I'm convinced the hosts will win the first set here, and that was my pick here. The first pick points over the margin offered, 74.5 is an ideal margin for the high stakes. With the hosts taking the first set, they need 50 in the other three, maybe even less if they win the set thanks to the difference in points. So, a won set, plus two where they win at least 15 points, and one 20 - that would make this bet a win. Krasnoyarsk did it in every championship match so far. The best example is the game against Kazan when Krasnoyarsk beat them, and Kazan beat Dynamo Moscow at home in five sets. The only minus for this bet could be that when Dynamo Moscow played an away game against Dynamo Krasnodar, they won in three sets, and Krasnodar won 52 points there, losing 3-0, but they really played bad. Krasnodar aren't the shadow of what they were last season, and I don't think Dynamo Moscow can win so clearly again today. Details

- We are focused on the quarter-final, which is why we won't try too hard in our last group stage match against Cameroon - said Korea's coach, Lee Jung Chul, after their defeat to Brazil in the last game. That is a significant statement, Korea advanced to the quarter-final, and in order to avoid the 4th position and USA, they need to win a set against Cameroon today. There is no room for calculations, Korea will be playing the second game of the day, and they can only guess who they will face in the quarter-final. Regardless of their opponents, they will not be the favorites, but they could cause an upset with a great performance. I am almost sure that Kim will not be playing much today, if at all. I also expect their first setter Lee Hyo Hee and receiver Kim Heejin to stay on the bench. To keep things short, I expect South Korea to play this game with a mixed squad, with complete focus on the quarter-final that will be played on Tuesday.
My experience tells me it will be that way, and the same thing happened at the Olympics qualifying tournament in May, Korea played the last game with reserve players after they secured their qualification. Kim is too important for them not to spare her in this irrelevant match, Lee Jung Chul probably believes he can win this with reserves, aware that the new tournament starts on Tuesday with the quarter-final.
Cameroon have been performing above expectations in Rio, they have been the best of all African teams, they were close to defeating Argentina, close to Russia in two sets. They will not be relaxing, they cherish these games and they will play this one at their maximum, even try to win if they get the chance. This handicap would have been too high even if Korea needed the win, and if the game had been played in the second or third round.
Cameroon lost to Russia by 11, to Japan by 23, to Brazil by 27 at the start when they were still impressed with everything in Rio. They were even with Argentina, whom South Korea defeated by 14 points. Honestly, I expected today's margin on handicap of points to be around that number considering the circumstances. Details

The Netherlands and Italy met 4 times in the last year and the Dutch won all 4 meetings, 3 of which in straight sets. They won one of them 3-1 -this year in Grand Prix in a match Italy hosted in Bari. The best player at Italy was Dious (23 points) but she is not in Rio. I think Bonitta made a mistake by not taking her here because she can be unstoppable on a good day. It was obvious that Bonitta doesn't trust his team when he asked the 36-year-old settler Lo Bianco to join the team just a months before Rio. What she said after that match suggested that something was not right on the Italian team. They put up too poor performances here so far and haven't gotten a single set yet. They were expected to make progress against China but they played the second match even worse than the first one against Serbia. Overall, they are doing badly here and haven't done much better in test games before Rio. I'm sure they will not get better today against a team which does not suit them at all. Italy are far from good form and even if they had that, the Dutch would have still been favorites here.
Alongside the win from Bari, the Dutch beat Italy 3-0 in OG qualifier in May. It was a convincing win by 19 points. The Dutch won in European qualifiers semifinal in January in Turkey as well. Diouf scored team-high 17 points at Italy back then but the Dutch won by 12 points in total. And finally, the meeting at EC last season was dominated by the Dutch, who won by 20 points in total. They have so far beaten China in Rio (Italy lost to China in straight sets) and lost to the US in 5 sets. The Dutch left a great impression and displayed rapid progress since Guidetti took over. Italy, on the other hand, don't seem good at all. If the Dutch won 3 points against Italy in each of the previous 4 games, there is no reason anything should be different now. They're in great form, while Italy aren't. Details

First of all, Azerbaijan were weak against Greece; the players themselves said their game was far from ideal. Two 3-1 wins against Greece are no reason to be optimistic, Azerbaijan oscillated in that game. The lost one set to Greece with 25-9, they struggled in others, ad Slovakia are stronger than Greece. Besides, Slovakia are today playing at home. They were very good in the semi-finals against Slovenia who, just for comparison's sake, twice easily beat Greece in three sets. Once as the visiting team, once on neutral grounds in Hungary. Last year, I'll add, Azerbaijan lost in a friendly match to Slovenia. The icing on the cake is that last year, in the European Championship qualifications, Slovakia beat Azerbaijan at home with 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-18), and then they got knocked out in the "golden set". Slovakia will surely want a revenge for that defeat, the home court will be an advantage. Besides, Slovakia look better than they did last season, they're optimistic and enthusiastic. Compared to last year, Azerbaijan don't have some players with them. If you ask me, this is a 50-50 match so I will take +1.5 on Slovakia's set. By what I've seen so far, Slovakia have every right to count on winning today. Details

I didn't expect such odds on Croatia's win. Despite absences, this Croatia is one class above for all the teams in the weakest Grand Prix division. It's going to be a failure if they don't make it to Division 2. Strength-wise this is a match between a top team of Division 2 and a team who are fighting to stay in the league, but it's a 50-50 match. One of the reasons is that Peru haven't lost so far and they're playing at home in front of their fans. So far Croatia have lost a set to Cuba in Australia. Yesterday Peru broke Cuba in the fifth set. Croatia is going to be more rested, Peru are more inexperienced, Croatia has better players, they have Champions League experience. Their block is solid. Last year Peru lost to Kenya, Colombia, Cuba, none of the teams who fit into the same sentence as Croatia. Croatia could score easy points thanks to their block, against short Peru. If you ask me, I think Croatia can only lose this due to a bad game and Peru's outstanding performance. I'd pick Croatia today even at 1.60. Details