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Another game in which the preview tells the whole story. Kaposvar are a very tricky team at home due to their famous arena which gives them a great advantage against teams they are on a par with. Chemese are certainly in their rank and taking their recent problems into consideration (lack of training session, cancelling the game against Bratislava), Kaposvar seems like a good bet.
In addition, Chemes have never won in Hungary, which speaks for itself. Posojilnica and ACH had problems here and they were in far better shape than Chems. Kaposvar have a few games behind them this season, Chemes have only one and this also speaks in favour of this bet. So - a win for the home team. Details

A bet on the Budvanska Rivijera is an obvious choice after reading the preview. Budva gathered the Montenegrian representation, plus the Italian Falaschi, and they seem to be a good quality team on paper. You can't say the same for the Czech. They lost some key players last season, and the substitutions are not nearly as good, because it's ridiculous to expect the former players from an average Extraleague team decide the Champions League matches. Coach Reljic finally has a team that plays well together, with a bunch of games with the same line-up, and Falaschi is too good of a setter to not find the connection with the hitters by now. The Budvan's flaw is the fact that they didn't play a single competition game in the season, but they're far better in quality than Jihostroj team. The Czech barely managed to win against the miserable Benatky in the national championship, and that's their realistic strength in this season. If they only had two games before today's match, the bet would go for a higher stake. This way, I'd go for a middle stake with the home team winning with at least two sets over. A clear win is even better for the combo. Details

As the title says, if this game was in the Champions League, it wouldn't be uncalled for, and I cannot understand how Haching are so favored. OK, they're a home team, but Antwerpen have a trick or two up their sleeve as well.
Haching change half of their team, while Antwerpen's only important change was their setter, and they Haching can't be favorites by 1,20 or 1,25. Still, we have a pretty low margin for this game, which seems five or six points too low, and even then the margin would have value for a smaller stake.
I definitely don't expect this match to be a one-way street, quite the contrary, I expect a huge fight for every points and I wouldn't be surprised if the winner is decided in fifth set. Details

I just can't understand the odds for the game in Ankara. Maliye have lost Ivovic and Vemic, and they are certainly not as good on receiver now. However, the arrival of Vincic was a big plus for them. Lokomotiv have lost their best player Tyutlin, which a far bigger problem for them than the loss of Ivovic is for Ankara.
Besides that, Lokomotiv haven't faced a serious opponent all season, and they lost first choice opposite Culafic at the last moment. That means that coach Filippov doesn't have a substitute for Tomyn today. There probably won't be a lot of fans in the stands today, but Maliye shouldn't be underestimated in this encounter.
All in all, I think the bookmakers have made a mistake. Turkish teams are strong at home, and the Ukrainian side still haven't got going this season. Details

It is hard to imagine that Nantes will be left empty-handed for their third game in a row, especially when playing in front of their own fans. St Nazaier is an ideal opponent to end the drought, they are the new-comers in this league and playing a game every three days is certainly not easy.
Nantes seldom lose points in front of their fans, especially not against teams that are below their level. Objectively speaking, coach Demar has one of the best teams in the league, while the same cannot be said of St Nazaire. I expect hosts to be full motivated and focused and I don't think St. Nazaire are able to threaten them this way. Three points for the hosts tonight. Details

Here we have somewhat inexplicable odds that greatly favor Chaumont. I think this is not a real reflection of the quality between these two teams and this is why the total is set so low.
Narbonne have won all four head-to-heads so far, and have gone over 200 points on both occasions in Chaumont, while the games in Narbonne went over 185 points.
The teams in hand have similar qualities, although Narbonne have small advantage due to team cohesion, but Chaumont will have a full arena behind them. Over 181,5 seems like a logical thing to bet on here. Details

Lyon have defeated the reigning champions, so they are regarded as champions against Cannes today, but that view is not based on facts. Cannes are a much more experienced team, despite Lyon's interesting roster. However, most Lyon players have either been fringe players for League A players or haven't played in the top division at all - the likes of Pujol, Samica, Castard, Lopes, Pashytskyy. We mustn't forget to mention the words of Lyon star Nikolov, who admitted to being in poor form, having been sidelined for six months. Lyon took advantage of Tours difficult situation, as they missed a lot of players (Pinheiro, Konecny, Baranek and Hardy Desourcess), so that result can't be a true measure of their team. Lyon will have to deal with good Cannes block, the very thing that Tours have lacked. Despite not facing a good block, Lyon had a poor 37% conversion average.
Cannes seem to be a more experienced and overall better team, they are certainly better in block and attack and I expect it to show today. I don't see Lyon as any kind of favorites in this match - these odds are influenced by Lyon's win over Tours and don't show the real situation. Details

I don't understand why Paris are such favourites today. They might be the current runners-up, but this year's squad has nothing to do with last year's. Montpellier have a new squad too, but they've kept more of their old players and they have setter Redwitz who knows the majority of their players, which can't be said about his colleague Hernan of Paris.
Paris' weakest link are their middle blockers, and Montpellier look intimidating with Le Goff , Lafitte and Schneider in this position. Although he was supposed to be one of Paris' key players, Ivovic was rather late in joining them, and Montpellier's entire team has been available for two weeks now.
Finally, I believe that the away side are the better team, their manager is better and Paris just don't seem coordinated yet. Redwitz will certainly try to use the great advantage of his team when it comes to middle blockers, I expect lots of balls through the middle, and, objectively, Paris have no way of defending them. The odds of the away team's winning are definitely too high and a 2 or so seems a lot more realistic. Details

According to the given odds, it turns out that Toulouse is a total underdog tonight, which is unreal. Sete and Toulouse have played twice during the preseason, Toulouse celebrated 3-2 in the finale of a tournament which was played in the same hall where tonight's match will be played. Sete celebrated 2-1 in the tournament in Avignon. Toulouse played those games without their middle blocker Tavana and opposite Milushev, they should be much stronger with them, while Sete had played without their middle blocker Vigrass.
It also needs to be kept in mind that Sete changed their whole team, while Toulouse has some players from the last season, the most important thing is that the setter Eloi has stayed. Sete had a lot of problems during the preseason, which is not surprising considering the number of new players.
Both their games last year finished in five sets, and both teams celebrated in away games so the margins for today's match seem too low. I don't see how today's match can finish in three sets, I expect an even match and at least 186-187 points. Different margin is available, and I will take 180,5 on bwin and their clones. It doesn't hurt to invest some units on the away team's win, the odds are quite tempting. Details

Ukraine is not without chances today, I give them at least 50% chance to win this match, but the current rates don't reflect that. They are in their best lineup here, there are no unknowns between the players and they have been preparing for these qualifications for a long time. On the other hand, Belarusians are in action since the beginning of June and last week they played on Eurovolley where they didn't do well and dropped out of the group phase. Together with the exhausting pace, there is also the setter Haramykin who has problems with finger injury and it was obvious in the last match that it causes him great trouble. It is actually a surprise that he came to Almere. To a certain degree, this match can be looked on from the perspective of Ukraine-Belarus matches of their clubs, Lokomotiv Kharkov on one side and Shakhtar Soligorsk and Stroitel Minsk on the other. That is where the Ukrainians are much more successful. The Ukrainian players are certainly fresher, psychologically more relaxed than Belarusians and there is also a certain amount of tiredness among Belarusians because of the whole summer spent on the road. The Belarusian coach said himself that they timed their performance for Eurovolley and that should be another advantage for Ukraine. The bet is widely available and there should be no problems with payments. Details

A semifinal match is never easy to tip, but I have to go with Bulgaria today. They are playing a great game, their team spirit is at an all time high, and beating Germany and Poland gave them the necessary confidence. They finally broke through the psychological barrier, Placi has enormous confidence in his players, as they have in each other.

The Italians on the other hand have not had a stellar performance so far, and have also had a much easier route to the semifinal, as selector Berutto admitted that himself. He is having trouble with injuries of his starting receivers, captain Savani and Parodi. Their appearance today is in question, as Savani practically did not even play so far and his form is an unknown quantity, while Parodi played under injury, which made matters worse. Even if they both managed to play I don't believe they will be at their full potential, and their only dangerous player is Zaytsev.

It does not hurt to remind ourselves that this is a debut for eight players on the Italian team, and Bulgaria has an especially big advantage in blocking, where they have better and much more experienced players.

All things considered, I don't see the Italians as favorites today. I would take a higher bet if Savani and Parodi were out for sure, but I recommend the opening of the game, and should they not be playing you can bet two or three units more on Bulgaria. Details

The game between Poland and Bulgaria is by far the best match in the round of 16, and one of these teams will be eliminated today, and I don’t believe it will be the home team.
The fact is, Poles will be under a lot of pressure, but Bulgarians are also under almost the same amount of pressure, and the home team will have the support of a full Ergo Arena. It’s true Poland didn't play brilliantly in the group, but I do not believe the host of the competition and a great volleyball country would be eliminated in the round of 16. I would be convinced if they were playing against Russia or Brazil.
In the last three years, Poland and Bulgaria played against each other on every big competition, Bulgaria won five times in seven matches, but almost all of them were “not important” matches in the group. On the other hand, Poland achieved their two wins in the knockout round.
Bulgarian players Skrimov, Yosifov and Sokolov have had minor problems with injuries, but all three will be ready to play today. The organizers gave the Bulgarians a pretty unpopular training time in the Ergo Rena, and we have to count in the time needed to travel from Gdynia to Gdansk. It’s worth mentioning the Ergo Arena is twice as big as the one in Gdynia, and the pressure from the stands will be enormous.
Although this has nothing to do with sports, I think the referees will be inclined to the Poles, since they are the host. All things considered, I believe Poland will win today’s match. With a smaller stake, because it is a hard match, but I pick Poland. Details

The match for the first place in this group, which means a very tight game. Poland were not really impressive yesterday as they struggled against a weak Turkey, and the French are a better team than that. I have already mentioned how the French have progressed, especially mentally and they are absolutely brimming with confidence. Games against Poland are always motivating and they usually have their best performances against very strong teams. Trying to guess the winner here is a roulette, Poland are too much of a favorite, but the total point margin is quite interesting. 183,5 seems at least 3-4 points too low, and the previous games speak in favor of this. The Frenche have won 3-2 in the World League both times going over 210 points. Previous head-to-head games have also gone over this margin and this bet should be followed through with a medium stake. Details