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This fact this is the last chance for Belgium is the foundation for this bet. A defeat would see them crashing out regardless of how the other matches end. They weren't doing that badly so far, but all of their opponents were top teams. They managed to win two sets against the US in the opening game, and one against both Iran and Italy. On the other hand, the French were brilliant against the top teams in the group and may not have a lot of motivation left. This match is not crucial for them, and that has known to be a problem in the past. In the beginning, they struggled with Puerto Rico, a team they're capable of beating easily. The last head to head match between France and Belgium ended with a point difference of 12 points, and France won in straight sets. But the situation they're in today reminds me of a qualifying match they played - it was settled after five sets with a Belgian win. I think this should be a match closer than the odds suggest. I decided on the points handicap that could be good even in three sets. Since both teams need points, to bet on total number of points doesn't seem like a bad things either since the margin is set rather low. Details

Italy were the better team on Friday, but they lost, and probably still wonder how that happened. They could have won 3-0 just as easily, but in the end, they were forced to try and salvage one point. Things should be a bit better today. The stats suggest they were worst than Poland only in the number of mistakes, and that's what decided the match. I don't see why the bookmakers favor the home team to such an extent again. Poland doesn't deserve that, judging by their performance. Italy will surely do well again, and I'm convinced they will win at least a set. With a bit more focus, I wouldn't be surprised if they won. This handicap makes sense because Poland won their last head to head match by only 5 points. They managed to make that point difference in tie-break, when Italy let go. Three of of the remaining four sets were very close and I think this match will be just like them. Details

Only one match of the group F in these two days ended in three sets. It was between Mexico and Tunisia, and the African team got a bit lost. The same Tunisia took a set from Cuba yesterday, and took the match over this margin despite not that great of a game. Today, two even teams are fighting. Perhaps Cuba showed a bit more, but numerous mistakes lead them to problems. Mexico play firm at home, and I think they'll use the opponent's mistakes and get at least a set. The friendly match they played went over 200 points in four sets. Of course, friendly matches aren't really the measure, but they can be indicative. Today, I expect each team to take a set, which should be enough to cover a margin this low. Details

I have to admit I don't understand the odds on Brazil. I saw the game yesterday and the hosts didn't look too well. They used their physique to threaten their opponents in the second and win the third, but that was it. I now they can do a lot better but so can Italy. The Italians were just taking care of business, there was nothing particularly good in their performance. Good serves, solid block and most attacks aimed at Zaytsev. Both teams have stated they can to even better today and that they expect another tight game. Judging by what I've seen, that should be the case. Despite of everything, I think that Italy can get at least one set and lose within the selected margin, should they lose at all. Details

Had Turkey come here with their best squad, they would have been the top favorite to take the first place in their group. They sent a combination of their B and C squad and it's really hard to see them getting the top spots. On the other hand, Belarus are here with their A team. They're not a superpower, but they have been playing together for some time. They have had good preparations, they played against strong teams and they have a chance in the qualifications here. Last year in the Europa League, they had most of their players announced for today and they beat a stronger Turkey in 3 out of 4 games.
The bookies have opened the odds at 1.83 but they have soon been chanced. Considering everything above, I think Belarus are still a bigger favorite than the odds suggest and I have decided to go for their win with a handicap. I believe I have taken the safest option that can go through even after five sets. I can't see how much this Turkey can accomplish but the margin is low and should be taken. Details

I don't see why Macedonia are underestimated. They have the same ratio in this round of qualifications as Latvia, so the odds should be about the same, at least. Maybe the reason is yesterday's debacle against Poland, but that match can't be a measure. The Polish played a lot better than against Latvia on the first day, and Macedonians gave up up front knowing they don't stand a chance. They played the third set with the substitute team. They managed to preserve some strength which can't be said about their opponent who had a battle of over two hours against Slovenia. Also, captain Gjorgiev's statement that they want to keep their chances for the second round with a win today explains why they were weaker yesterday.
I think Macedonia showed a lot more. They played the first round perfectly, have a lot better service, reception, and block here. Other than my subjective opinion, the statistics back this thesis up. I expect a big fight here, but I also think the experience and a slightly better rotation can bring the Macedonians a win. Details

Before the last game on Sunday, Unibet put out a margin of incredible 188.5 points. The match went to five sets and over 200 points, and the margin today is 10 points lower. I really don't understand their logic. I'm assuming the bookmakers are guided by the first match of the series, played in Krasnodar, which was decisively in favor of Dinamo. Kemerovo blamed that on the time difference as the game started at 22:30h by their time zone, and they won the next day in this same arena. The time should not be a problem today as they've been in town wince Monday and the match also starts much earlier. This series already gave us two five set matches, and today the stakes are the biggest possible. This is the last chance to get into the final tournament and I doubt any of the teams will surrender or give up if they're losing 2-0. Kemerovo have improved significantly and are perhaps playing slightly better than their opponents over the last three matches. As far as Dinamo are concerned, they have the home court advantage and their offense woke up, but the absence of their primary blocking duo left a significant impact on their game.
There are simply too many factors pointing towards an even game. Statements from both camps suggest both teams are expecting a hard and close game. The margin is very low and it absolutely has value. As we saw both teams can win in three sets I wouldn't go wild with the stake, but this should definitely be played. Details

I expect Modena to participate in this match much more than the bookmakers suggest. They have been doing brilliantly lately, they knocked out last year's champions easily, and on top of that, the home team have problems with the line up, and won't play at their arena. Mecerata are not the same team they were when they dominated the Italian volleyball and Trentino were the only team that could beat them. They have had many ups and downs, and failures this season...too many considering their reputation. They can beat just about anyone if they're having a good day, but given the importance of this game, I don't think it will end in three sets. Besides, the regular season game in which Macerata were the home team was settled after five sets. Details

I will give my trust to Kemerovo once again and opt for their win in handicap. It got very close of being unsuccessful against Soligorsk, but that was one of the poorest performances I've seen. They've done a lot better against Novosibirsk in the next game. The coach was in the end not happy with the performance, justifying it by the fact the next two games are much more important (another good news for this bet).
Ural are having more and more problems, and increasingly worse performances. Their top player Danilov didn't play last round, and he can't do much on his own. The away games are especially bad because they don't have the money to stay in the opponents' cities two day ahead of the game, like the top teams do. What is particularly going to be a problem today. Kemerovo are further away than any other team in the Superliga. Grozni beat them last round in four sets by a total of 10 points. Kemerovo are beyond a doubt a better team than Grozni, which is why it's logical they'll be better at least by few points. Details

Kemerovo are not a team from the top of of the table, but everything seems to be going their way today. A team that managed to win a set against Belgorod 25-16 deserves respect. More importantly, Belgorod didn't use subsituties in that set. Visiting team's form is great, despite two consecutive defeats to much better teams (Zenit, Belgorod). They are better in every position compared to Soligorsk. I want to point out that Makarov is the organizer of Kemerovo's game. He won each and every possible competition with his national team. There's also Marcus Nilsson, who won the Champions League last year with Lokomotiv from Novosibirsk. The home team won only one point in 2014, and that says a lot. The visiting team's coach said they'd go for the win. Kemerovo won the last three games against teams from the bottom part of the table, who are still better than Soligorsk, and covered this handicap every time. I don't see why they wouldn't today. Details

After the major staffing changes in Ural before the season and the financial issues during it, yesterday's resignation of coach Gulinelli topped it off. An already difficult situation was made even more difficult, and one wonders how long the players can suffer it. Dinamo went through something similar last year and are now serious in trying to secure European participation. Winning away matches against weaker opponents are the right step towards that goal. Ural won the first set in the cup, but that was primarily due to the players of Dinamo being fatigued after playing five set vs Zenit the day before. After they got into their rhythm, Ural had not real chance. Dinamo clearly have a stronger roster, and Marichev was prepared for each of the substitutions Gulinelli tried. Dinamo have, despite the lost set, covered the yesterday's margin, as the game ended with a lead of 13 points. The bookmakers have corrected the margin compared to yesterday, but there is still value to be found. Bet365, Betcity and Marathon are offering a 9.5 margin, which is still a few points too low in my opinion. Everything is up to Dinamo today, and I expect them to play at leas one serious set where they will show their true quality and cover the handicap. A clean win for the away team can be found @1.30 and is a great choice for a ticket with a stronger stake. Details

I base this bet on the assumption that Belgorod will not used their strongest squad to the maximum. Coach Shipulin has regularly rested his standard first-team players in the league games this season. After playing an important match against Trentino Thursday in late evening (23:30 in Moscow time zone), they have a huge home derby against Zenit in their Kosmos Arena on Tuesday. Even though Belgorod have recently won the cup game by 3-0, both tams agreed this was nowhere near Zenit's best performance. So, we can expect the team from Kazan to put up a stronger resistance then.
The away coach has made some changes in Trento after securing the Final Four. They used the reserve squad in the last two matches and they had to save points against one of the worst teams in the league - Yaroslavich and young Perm team.
On the other hand, the home team are a strong team consisting of Ukrainian national team players, reinforced with Georgi Bratoev. They have a run of three wins and have only had two defeats at home this season. They're well organized and are a tough opponent for anyone. After huge battles and fives sets, they defeated Dynamo Moscow and Fenerbahce at home. The arena in Kharkiv will surely be full for such an attractive opposition and that is always an additional motivation. It seems that we will not see a three-set game as the bookies predict. I repeat, it's hard to see the away coach to force their strongest squad throughout the entire match. This will be their fourth game in February and the have two more rounds to play until the end of the month In this case, the home team are definitely capable of taking a set. I will go with a moderate stake as there are no reliable information about the squads. Details

I have to admit I am surprise with the way Dynamo are favored here. Obviously, the bookmakers are not sure what to expect from this match as the margins are very variable. The odds on Dynamo are small due to the fact that they haven't lost a game this season. Among others, they have beaten Belgorod and Zenit, which is not a small deal. However, Ugra have the potential to be a highly-placed team, but they haven't shown it yet. I can't shake off the impression that they are playing really well on this tournament. They fluctuated against Belgorod and almost got a win. The beat Novosibirsk with ease and I believe they can get a good result. Antipkin announced they will not give up until the end and this has been their trait this whole season. Judging by what I have seen so far, I don't think the game will end in three sets. In fact, Dynamo have not beaten their opponents for today in three sets in the past four year. In case this happens, I took a point handicap that could go through even then. Details

Both teams need the points as they are not in the best situation. Despite their potential, they still haven't lived u to the expectations. Ugra are a stubborn team that has not given an inch to the strongest teams. Even though they've lost their last games against Novosibirsk and Zenit in three sets, they always pushed their opponents to the maximum. On the other hand, Kemerovo announced their campaign for the fifth spot and the spot in Europe, but are now closer to relegation than the semi-finals. Lead by Ngapeth and Nilsson, they're still a tricky opponent. When they are organized, they can match every team. They played against Gubernia on Wednesday and didn't do too well. Ugra are a weaker version of Gubernia and the away team certainly learned their lesson from their last defeat. I have no doubt that they will react better today and put up more resistance. Because of everything stated above, I find it hard to believe they match will end in three sets. The game in Ugra last season had 5 sets and I wouldn't be surprised if the situation remains the same today. Four strong sets are enough for this margin to go through. Details

Dinamo Krasnodar have left a far better impression in the first six rounds than Ural. They made use of somewhat better list of fixtures and opponents and were undefeated until the last round. Strong Gubernia and a poor performance by Krasnodar resulted in a defeat but the away team said they had learned their lesson. They have done their preparations for the rest of the season in full force except for Stokr. On the other hand, Ural have been without a coach and their best player during the entire break as they had obligations with the national team. The home team fluctuate between good and disastrous. Before the start of the season, the teams met in the Russian Cup and Ural won by 3-2 but the game could have easily been won by the away team. Ural made the best of the nerve-wrecking endgame but I don't have any doubt Krasnodar will react better today. I believe the visitors here can settle the game in 3 or 4 sets. If this weren't the first round after the break, my stakes would have been higher. Details

I think the bookmakers give too much importance to the Turkey's win against Estonia. It's not that Turkey played that great, as much as the opponents' mistakes, and not too successful realization of the opponents' offense allowed them to get an easy win. What often happens in the Turkey team is that they become nervous when under a big pressure, and they start fighting among each other. That's what happened in the third set of the yesterday's game, and who knows how the game would end if Estonia used the set ball. Croatian team are persistent and feisty. When Germans had a few set balls, they didn't surrender, but reduced the difference with good services or planned offenses. If they do the same today, they could create a mess in the Turkey's team. Besides, Croatia played a good game yesterday, even the German coach commended them. But, there's obviously a significant hold back according to Simuncic and Omrcen. Croatia are always well prepared tactically, and since they know most of the Turkish team from the European league, nothing should surprise them today. Croatians feel positive before this match, and I believe that with their yesterday's approach and a better level of game, they can win. I don't expect an easy game, but the odds are too tempting to be missed. For those who want to be more sure, they can use the sets' handicap offered by Supersport and a big number of other bookmakers. Details

The difference in quality of these two teams is huge. Bulgaria finished the last two big competitions in position four, having lost only to the greatest teams in the world. On the other hand, Cyprus played the first qualifying round against Sam Marino, Scotland, and Luxembourg - teams that mean absolutely nothing in European volleyball. Bulgaria is simply better in each position. Sokolov is one of the best spikers, Bratoev a reliable opposite, and Tedorov the best blocker in the Superleague. Even though the Bulgarians didn't excel in the qualification, they played a high quality opponents, unlike Cyprus, who played weakened home clubs. Absolutely everything today will come down to Bulgaria and their approach. No doubt that their quality could leave Cyprus 15 points short in each set, which is more that enough to win this bet. I expect them to be very determined in the first two sets, and Sokolov and Skrimov, who have minor injuries, might rest later on. But, they shouldn't have problems even then. The margin is relatively low, and the stake appropriate. Favorit and Marathon are offering a 125,5 margin @ 2 which can be chosen with a few units less as well. Details