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Lokomotiv squired a lot of players (Grozer, Eksi, Rodichev, Tkachev, Smolyar, Martinyuk and Shcherbakov) and their expectations of the next season are high. When it comes to important players, only Shoji left. They played two preparation games in Bulgaria and lost one 2-3 and the other one 1-3. Team captain Pavlov said they will go full throttle in the first game of the season. Some players won't be there but they have enough players to replace them.

Terkhan barely managed to stay in the league last season (under the name of Krasnogorsk). They recorded 19 wins in 44 games, 13 of which home. They lost to Lokomotiv Izumrud in straight sets and 3-1, to Dagestan in straight sets and 3-2, Yaroslav in straight sets and 3-2, Barnaul 3-1 and 1-3 and so on. Those were away games with better teams from the league.

That says it all about their quality and the team hasn't changed much since. They played three games in preseason and lost in straight sets to Dynamo Chelyabinsk and TNK from Kazakhstan. They beat Lokomotiv Izurud 3-2 in the first game.

Lokomotiv played the Russian cup and beat Dagestan 3-1 and 3-0. They beat Lokomotiv Izumrud twice in straight sets. In 6 games, they had two overs, one of which was with Fakel.

In Superliga, they had 2 unders and an over in straight sets with Dnyamo Krasnodar while they played Neftyanik at 133 and Dynamo LO at 131 out of stronger teams.

I expect Lokomotiv to win easily. The only problem is 3-2 with Lokomotiv Izumrud but Lokomotiv trashed them last season. The points handicap at Lokomotiv is not a bad option either but under seems just a bit better. Details

These are the best teams of group A and this meeting will clearly decide who gets the top spot. Neither team has changed since World League much and since Qatar had 3-3 and Kazakhstan 1-5, that says a lot. Also, Qatar played some serious games when preparing for this. Their mixed lineup lost to Oman 2-3 but they trashed Pakistan in straight sets (25-21, 25-19, 25-16) when complete. I'm talking about Pakistan because Kazakhstan won the WC pre-qualifying game against them in 5 sets last may. Kazakhstan played no preparation games for this. They have no previous meetings with Qatar but they played some of the same opponents over the past few years. Last year, Qatar (a teams slightly different than this one) beat Greece 3-0. Kazakhstan lost 0-3 to them. This year we have meetings with Venezuela and the same outcomes. Qatar beat them 3-1, Kazakhstan lost 3-1. Both teams beat Tunisia 3-1 but overall, Qatar left a better impression. Stakes are high here and because of everything, I'll go with a win for Qatar. Details

Belgium displayed power yesterday by trashing Slovakia 26-24, 25-13, 25-15. The first set was quite close but the Belgians had 21-13. The fact Slovakia made a comeback was more a consequence of their lack of focus. There are a few reasons for this under, the first one definitely being the Slovakia match. Belgium trashed them (108 points) and that same Slovakia beat Belarus in three out of three preparation games (3-1, 3-1). Belarus won one in straight sets. We have the games with Serbia this summer, Belarus won easily in Zagreb (129) while Belgium won in Novi Sad in straight sets (136) only to lose in straight sets in Tehran a week later. Two years ago, Belgium and Belarus met in group stage at Eurpvolley. Belgium won in straight sets and recorded 127 points. Belgium are the same as back then, while Belarus didn't have two players. However, Belgium should not suit Belarus at all. We need to say that Belarus had problems with Denmark, Switzerland and Norway and Belgium limited Portugal to 124 points, Israel to 127 and Latvia to 133. Those are teams similar to Belgium. After Germany had a slip yesterday, Belgium have an open road to WC and I don't think they will miss out on that. The tip is available at bet365, bet-at-home and so on... Details

The difference in quality is huge here. Australians are after their 6th straight World Championship and belong to top 15 teams in the world. New Zealand, on the other hand, are one of worst teams in Asia. They played Tonga (3-0, first set 28-26), Fiji (3-1) and struggled even in those matches. They beat Australian junior team Center of Excellence and Canberra Heat who are not good at all. The last time New Zealand played WC qualifiers was back in 2014 when Korea limited them to 36, Japan to 44 and Qatar, who are much better today, to 65 points. Only Australians managed to get into the second round at WC alongside Iran and that is the difference in quality. Looking at this year, Australia beat respectable teams like the Netherlands (3-0), Finland, Slovakia, Japan. New Zealand are nowhere near those teams. The margin is set pretty low. Australia rarely won at under 123,5 because they haven't played opponents like these in the last 2-3 years. However, I don't see a way for New Zealand to go over 43-45 points here (15 per set) and that under seems like a good option too. New Zealand team under is a very good option as well. A straight set win is a sure thing. An alternative can be New Zealand team under or the Australia 75,5 under. The bet is available to bet-at-home, bwin, Unibet. Details

Canada are without their top player Vernon-Evans. Without him, they are 40-50 percent weaker since he is the one who makes the difference. On the other hand, the Czechs are complete and now again have a player who is to them what Evans is to Canada. They played Poland in a test match and lost 1-4 while the Canadians played no games after finishing third in the Panamerican Cup late in May (with Evans on the team).

These teams have no previous meetings but we can make some comparisons. The US, Cuba and Brazil are teams that beat Canada easily even with Evans on. They also played Turkey - the US won 3-2, the Czechs lost in straight sets without their top players . Italy beat Cuba and Brazil in straight sets while Cuba and Brazil beat Canada easily. The Czechs will have the home court advantage which cannot be ignored but at the same time, this is a game for the QFs since they have only Morocco and Poland left to play. Details