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Hats off to CSKA who are impressive this season, even without Teodosić. But, nobody can come to Malaga and expect an easy ride. This is one of the most difficult courts in Europe, and the home team's coach even pointed that out today and invited the fans. Unicaja didn't lose at home with this handicap in over a year, and even though they lost to Real and Maccabi, those defeats were close. I expect the same today because Unicaja are one of the rare European teams who can match CSKA in strength, defense and rebounds. These two teams are pretty evened out, and I see this match on a hot court in Malaga, a match that doesn't matter to CSKA, as a home team's win. Details

Barcelona already secured top spot, Fenerbahce are the runner-up, but regardless of that, I don't think this will be an important game in either teams' minds. Fenerbahce still remember that defeat to Barcelona home and will be very motivated today to make it right and beat them for the first time this season. The fact home team don't have two top scorers to count on, which will make things much easier for Fenerbahce's defense. Oleson Goudelock will be given a lot more chance today. Fenerbahce finally have the game Obradovic wants them to play. I'm convinced it will be a close game, I even think Fenerbahce are much closer to winning. Details

Granted, Norway did much better in the EC games against the same group rivals, but when it comes to their h2h match, the stats from this championship isn't too relevant. Both teams were reshuffled, Denmark might have underrated Romania a bit, but their typical Scandinavian persistence got them that one important point in the end. That draw can be all forgotten about if they beat Norway today. Denmark proved they have what it takes to beat Norway two times in the last two months. They recorded the first win mid-October (26-22) and the second one late November, just before this EC in Norway 24-21. Denmark'd defense and goal keepers were superior in both those games. Sandra Toft limited the opponents to only 8 goals in the first half of that second match, which is no coincidence. Toft is a player at the Norwegian champions Larvik and third of Norwegian team is from Larvik. Another thing is the fact Denmark have much more players to chose from at back positions. Norway's back players are much shorter. Middle back Kristiansen is having the best performances of her carrier, she's much better than Norway's Oftedal. The Danes have a much better quality bench too, which can settle the game in the end. I believe that Denmark have a better chance to win today. I believe that they won't lose by more than one goal and that's my betting choice for this game since it's widely-available. Details

Spain recorded 17 seven-meter throws in the last two games and that is a fact I can't ignore. When it comes to seven-meter throws, Carmen Martin plays the key role on the Spanish team. She took 13 of those and scored all 13 for a perfect efficiency. Martin adds goals from the wing position two, her record being 4-for-7 so far. When it comes to head-to-head meetings with Hungary, she didn't participate at last year's WC with an injury, but she scored 7 goals to become Spain's top scorer in the 2012 EC group stage game. The margin set at 6.5 goals is quite a good option with lower stake. Details

My impression, and I allow for me being wrong, is that Cedevita aren't a team who can score 80 points per game, even more so against the Europe champion Maccabi. We all know very well that the Israelis have one motivation in Europe, and different in the national league. The saem goes for Cedevita, of course, but Maccabi have much more quality, despite being defeated by Cedevita at home. First, here's a pick from the statistical point of view: Cedevita have 102 in four games against Limoges, where they scored lots of three pointers and had 12/13 field goal in the first period, they scored 67 to Alba, 63 to Unicaja, 73 to CSKA. Maccabi conceded over 76 only in the away game against the RUssians, and they played without two key players then, Tyus and Smith. They left Unicaja with 66 in Malaga, Alba with 69 in Berlin, Limoges with 73 in France. If someone can convince me Cedevita's offense is better than those in Alba, Limoges, and Unicaja... Cedevita only had 71 against Zadar on Monday. Gordić doesn't score as he did at the season beginning anymore, Ukić is gone, and that means more misses than scores. Cedevita don't have an advantage on the center, or the wing, especially because Smith is Maccabi's best defensive player. Cedevita only have Ramljak or Babić there. Pilepić is the only one in the form, but that's not enough to expect Cedevita with 80 points. The importance of the game and the Israeli's motivation? Cedevita need the win to stay in the game, Maccabi want to get revenge for Tel Aviv, and to confirm the second place. Don't doubt their motivation, they'll want to win this. Haynes not playing is a little problem in their defense, but against Cedevita like it is, they can make up for it. Details

I think Celtic would have problems even if they came to Zagreb complete and motivated, but considering the absences and no meaning in getting the points, they can hardly get a result. Dinamo finally caught a rhythm and started playing well. They crushed the only opponent in the national league last Saturday, and this is the only challenge they have left... basically till the end of the season. The team are almost complete, they can focus on this game, and I think they'll give at least a bit of what they owe to their fans. Details

The visitors have a better situation ahead of this game but the bookmakers don't really realize it. The difference in quality is great between these two teams, with Frisk being a top table team in great shape and 10 wins in the last 12 games. Lillehamer are only a mediocre team from the bottom part of the table with 5 defeats in the last 6 games. They lost even to Kongsvinger who are by far the worst team in the league. The visitors have form and quality, and good head-to-head record with Lillehamer. They beat them in both head-to-head games this season 3-0 and 4-2. Frisk are a very reliable team that loses only to the leading teams. These two defeats in the last ten games are to Stavenger and Lorenski, two top table teams. Frisk beat everyone else. The visitors are a heavier favorite than the odds suggest here. Details

One of the reason Russia lost to Spain was small number of their fast break goals. The had only two, compared to 10 out of 12 attempts in the Hungary match. Trefilov will insist on more fast breaks today, with Kuznetcova as one of the key players he's counting on. She's in the game almost the whole time - 60 minutes against Spain, 52 against Hungary, with a total of 9 goals out of 13 attempts and 4 out of 4 in fast breaks. Poland, on the other hand, conceded a lot of goals to opponents' wingers when they would run into fast breaks. Neither of the goal keepers did well, having recorded a total of only 7 saves (conceded 19 goals from all positions). The bet is available with Favorit and Betsson as well. Details

Two players at Ukraine are capable of taking responsibility in offense - Nikolaenko and Borschenko. Ever since they lost Mangarova at right wing position, Borschenko plays a more prominent role as the left wing. She is given much more freedom in offense and gets much more passes from the back players. She scored a total of 9 goals in 17 attempts at this EC (2 games) after scoring 14 in total in two preparation period games against Slovakia. Also, she and Nikolayenko are the only players that do seven-meter throws at Ukranie. She will spend a lot of time in the game again, her average is 52 minutes per game. The bet is available with Betsson, Betsafe, Betcity as well. If it was more widely available, I would maybe go one unit higher. Details