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I was surprised by the high odds for Dobrowa to win. Despite their crisis, I give them more chance to win that the bookmakers do, and will play this bet with a somewhat lower stake. Volero are not much of a team, and the two reinforcements they brought in during the break don't mean much. I don't see them any stronger than they were in the first two rounds, where they suffered decisive losses to Dinamo Kazan and the surprisingly weak Stiinta. Dabrova dismantled the latter team in three sets and played two even sets with Dinamo Kazan. Popovic, who was brought in as a substitute for Sano, is coming back after giving birth, so I seriously doubt Volero will be stronger in that position than they were in their first two European games. Thomson is a very good setter, but has just arrived and is not familiar with the team enough, so I don't see her as much of a reinforcement in the match today. Along with all that, Volero have a weak national league, which is a handicap, and their home court is not that hot. Dabrowa have a stronger roster in my opinion, the departure of their coach might motivate the players to act, as I find it unbelievable that they could play poorly for so long. They are struggling with injuries and not playing so well, but have to get better at some point. If they do so today, the points are going to Poland. I'd even say that Volero are under more pressure, as the club president is demanding a victory at all costs. As opposed to the first two games in the Champions League, the away team have Cemberci, a great setter, who has been with the team for a month, unlike Thompson, and has played four games with them so far. This is a plus for Dabrowa, and one should bet on them to win with a small stake at least. Details

Dabrowa are really struggling at the start of the season, which is why I believe it is worth betting something on Lodz. The home team are having trouble with injuries, due to Guadalupe Brusse getting injured they only have Zaroslinska on opposite, and she is not in proper form. All this is forcing coach Kawka to improvise and play without a proper opposite. All receivers apart from Skowronska don't do great on offense and Dabrova are really struggling in that segment of the game. They recently brought in setter Camberci, as they were not happy with the players they had in that position. It naturally takes time for Camberci to fit into the team, and their block is not at the level expected at the opening of the season. More was expected from Adams there, but she has still not fit into the system, and is not playing at the level of her performance in Bydgoszc last season. Other than Legionovia, Dabrowa have not beaten anyone 3-0 yet this season, and I believe they will not manage to do so against Lodz either, as they have risen in form over the last 2-3 weeks. It all started with the return of their recovered captain Pycia. Lodz brought many reinforcements prior to the season, and are now better tuned then at the start of the season. They will be playing without pressure today, as they have nothing to lose, and winning a set seems perfectly possible in these conditions. Tradition is also in their favor, as they have won a set vs Dabrowa in every match over the last two seasons, and Dabrowa looked better back then. Betting on over seems a good choice too, especially at bet365 for 146.5 points, but I've chosen this bet since the margin for over is such in only at one bookmaker and anything over 160.5 is also a good bet. Details

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Wroclaw suffered their first defeat of the season last weekend. They were beaten by Legionovia, with some of their weaknesses surfacing in that game. It seems to me that Wroclaw are still not ready to fight for the title. I am sure they would not have such odds vs Sopot if they had a tougher schedule at the start of this season. They have only played vs the weakest teams of the league so far, they lost their first tougher away game, and their lack of tougher matches played might be a handicap as well. Sopot are in great shape, they have a longer bench, and are arriving to Wroclaw filled with confidence. They have booked five wins in a row, with two of those in Europe, and three league wins vs Dabrowa, Muszyna and Bielsko Biala. Not very tired after their European game, they are ready for this game. They are coming for three points, and their great blocking line should tip the scales in their favor. Wroclaw are not bad in that segment, but I would say they are not as good as Sopot. In closing we might note that Wroclaw's offense did not shine vs Legionovia's block, which cannot compare to the one Sopot have. This is where the home team will get in trouble today, and they will not be able to get out. Details

The first game in which Olympiakos won without losing a set is a good invitation to got for an over. The Greek team won but every set was tight and this confirms that these two teams are on a par. The team from Paris will have the home court advantage and will try to get a chance to win the golden set. The Greek team only need two sets to go through. I don't believe in another three-set game as the last game took four, and that would certainly go over this margin. Paris St-Cloud are, in my opinion, considered as favorites without any justification and an over seems like fairly good shot. Details

We can see that Volero are put in the roll of favourite here more than they deserve - they are a sightly better team, but let's not forget they're playing away today. The arena should be full, which means Volero are in for a heated, noisy, and even hostile atmosphere. That is beyond any doubt going to be an advantage for the Romanian champion, who are stronger this season compared to the last one. The match will take place in a small arena, and Stinta are more than used to playing in it. They did quite badly in the first match against Dabrowa, but their coach said he's expecting a good game and the battle for the win today. It wouldn't be an impossible outcome, Volero didn't do brilliantly in the first round. Dinamo beat them easily, they struggled with reception, which is quite possible to happen today as well - that is the weakest segment of their game. Besides, their setter Guerre isn't doing well, seems like she still has troubles working with her new teammates. She is rarely cooperating with Onyejekwe, the balls she delivers to others are far from ideal, and the bad reception is making everything even more difficult, of course. Stiinta went all in for this match, even postponed their championship match in order to prepare as best as they can for this one. The recent coach change in Volero didn't do them much good either. I don't want to discuss the reasons for De Brandt's sacking, but new coach Lindenmair just doesn't seem like the best choice to me. I expect a great struggle for Volero here, the best choice for betting in my opinion is to choose the point handicap for the home team. Those more braver among you can try their hand at +1,5 set for Stiinta with a smaller wager, of even simply try to opt for the win. Details

The only advantage for Igtisadchi here is the fact they're playing home. Everything else speaks in favor of the team from Moscow, in my opinion, Dinamo played a series of matches already, in which they reached fine form, which is not the case with the home team. They played only one real game so far - last week in Belgrade, and all the players joined the team only ten days ago. Igitisadchi didn't do brilliantly in Belgrade, but still managed to win. The team underwent a lot of changes and definitely need more time together, unlike Dinamo, who changed almost nothing. I think the individual player quality is better in Dinamo as well - Obmochaeva and Kolosheva are doing very well. Good thing for this pick is the fact Dinamo didn't play the championship match last weekend, which gave them plenty of time to prepare for this match. Besides, a month long break follows in their championship, and finishing off with a win would be ideal. Lastly, Dinamo's block should make the definite difference in this match - they are taller than Igtisadchi, who struggled with Crvena Zvezda's blockers already. They're in for an even bigger challenge today. Details

To begin with, I watched Lodz on Monday against Pile and I can say their game is terrible, and it is reflected in the words of their coach after this game. They won because their opponents were even weaker, 35 errors is no way to play in the Orlen league, but in the second division. They have many problems with their organization, they have the 43-year-old captain as their setter, and it's about time someone told her it's time to retire. But it's not just her, Lodz are simply not looking well. They are missing Pycia, and Cabrera is out of shape, and they had high hopes for her. Today they have an away game at Chemik who still haven't lost a set, and I don't see how that could change. Lodz are currently on a second-division level and Chemik at the Champions League level. The hosts have a formidable team, they have beat their main rivals in the first three rounds, Dabrowa and Sopot. Even though they know they will win today, I believe they will not calculate because they don't need to; they are playing one game per week and there is no need to rest a few important players. The arena will be full and this is an additional motive for them to give their best to their fans. I have decided to go for an under , as the margin seems alright, I even expected it to go a few points down. But if Chekim managed to have an under against Dabrowa, a team playing in the Champions League (124 points), we can see they are capable of doing that today as well. There were 128 points against Pile in their last home game, and I believe this margin should be here today. Details

Dynamo from Kazan have much more games behind them this season than Volero, and they play much better as a team. Volero changed almost whole starting lineup for this season. Some very good players have arrived, but Dynamo, who have several best players in the world on their squad, have more quality. The Russian champion didn't make a lot of changes compared to last year. Volero played well in the World club Championship, but I wouldn't glorify their win against Chinese Guangdong, who played their first game of the season with new players on the squad. Things sat in their place in the third place match in which the same Guangdong defeated Volero 3-1. I would say that Dynamo are stronger than Guangdong, while Volero will be weakened in comparison to that game. Without Osmokrovic, the Swiss champion is much weaker on the reception, and whoever gets the chance to replace her today, cannot play on the same level. Dynamo are coming to this away game rested and fully prepared. I believe that they will not repeat the mistake from last season when they suffered a surprising defeat in the first round of the Champions League in Germany against Schweriner. They need a safe win here, because of the good atmosphere and confidence ahead of the big derby of the Russian championship which is on Sunday. They will be playing an away game against, besides them, the only undefeated team, Omsk, with whom they share the first place. There are enough reasons here to trust the team from Kazan, my tip here is a win which will bring them three points at the start of the Champions League. Details

The Dutch team are overvalued here. I think these two teams have the same quality. The Dutch club volleyball is far from the national team level, Weert are the champion runners-up in Netherlands, but there are no well-known players in their team. They're not stronger than they were last year, when they were kicked out of the Cev cup by the Swiss Neuchtel, and then kicked out of the Challenge cup by Kamnik. They were convincingly beaten by the Dutch champion Sliedrecht, in three sets with small 25 points of difference. Today, they are hosting a good team from Zaporozje, also a team with no famous players, but significantly higher than Weert. This will definitely be an advantage for the Ukrainian team, who lost two games this weekend, from their national champion Khimik. They won one set in one game, and lost the game with small 15 points of difference, and then lost the second one with 20 points difference. To compare, Khimik are a lot stronger team than Sliedrecth are, and if we want to compare these two games, then Zaporozje are closer to win even there. The guests' advantage can be that they have more games played in this season. Counter-handicap of points that can be found on the market seems like a great choice here, even though a clear win by Zaporozje is definitely a value bet. Details

Dresden are overrated here, and I simply don't believe that this game will be over in three sets. The French side Beziers are a more experienced team, that have also played more official games this season. Since they have made less changes to the squad from last year than Dresden did, they should be more of a team. Dresden have had a lot of changes for this season, and their coach has said that his team will be at their best around December. My guess is they are set as favourites because of an easy league win against current German champions Schweriner. Since the reigning champions are a lot weaker side than they were last year, I wouldn't read too much into that. Beziers certainly have a say here, and that's why my pick is going to be to bet against the spread, even though over looks like a good pick as well. Details

In my opinion, Muszyna are overrated because of results from their past. They started this season with a completely different squad, and a considerably weaker one than last season's. Their weaknesses were there to be seen in the last game they played, when they lost convincingly to Sopot. Today they will be playing away in Israel, where they will face a solid Haifa side. The Israeli team have a few foreign players and a couple of Israeli national team players on their books. The Polish team have no idea what to expect today, as they were unable to scout their opponents due to a lack of information on Israeli volleyball. The same doesn't apply the other way around, because footage of Muszyna is easily available. The Polish side are the favourites, but not as big as they are making them out to be. I just have to try and play something on Haifa, and I'm going to choose over. Betting against the spread (-22.5) seems like a good pick as well, and it's on offer in several online bookmakers. Details

Everything points to this being an interesting game of two currently neighboring teams on the league table. Uralocka are ahead of Tyumen by one point, but with one more game played. This away game is a tough task for them, primarily due to their own form, which is nowhere near their optimum according to coach Karpolj. The reason is that their main players missed the preparatory period due to injuries and obligations in the national teams. Tyumen did not play in the last round and had more time to prep for the game. This, along with the home court, will be an advantage for them. I would not dare predict a winner here, but the points over option is playable up to 180.5. That option pays much more than the option for over three sets, and that is my choice. A normal four sets game should get this match into over. Neither of these two teams managed to play a three set game so far in the championship. They both recently played Ufimocka and won 3-1. If those matches are something to judge by, we have a close game ahead of us and it would be surprising if anyone won 3-0. Tyumen could give Uralocka much more trouble than the bookmakers predict they will. Details

This season Dabrowa look far better than their last year's nemesis Sopot. Two weeks ago the beat them in a Supercup game with almost no difficulty and in straight sets. They routinely beat Legionova in the first round of the championship, although many consider them this season's potential shocker. Sopot played poorly away to a strong Chemik, they made lots of errors and seemed miles away from their true form. Their current weak form isn't surprising, I believe it'll take time for everything to fall into place. This is due to their national team players' (Pietersen, Molnar, Leys and Hill) being late in joining the team. These players didn't spend the pre-season with the team and only joined them a week or two before the start of the championship. Dabrowa are far more coordinated since they spent their summer together as a team and did their pre-season in the United States, where they played a dozen friendlies. This will all be a huge advantage for them today. Sopot are still not entirely with it since they were abandoned by Rourke, the player who used to beat their opponents almost single-handedly. They currently have no such players in their ranks. They even had to change their tactics without her, and that takes time. Sopot's only advantage today is their home court, but I don't believe that's going to be enough to beat the brilliant Dabrowa Gornicza, who are motivated to win in the hall where the title slipped through their fingers last season. Details

Wroclaw ran over Pila in the first round, Lodz lost in five sets against Bielsko Biale. Wroclaw left by far better impression in the first round and Lodz did not play well despite they were close to a win against Bielsko Biale. They had many oscillations, they made many mistakes and I would say that a less bad team won that game, not a better one. I think Lodz are still finding themselves, although their coach claims that it is a good thing they still have not defined their starting lineup, I can not agree with that. True, they have a long bench, but Wroclaw have it too and they know their starting lineup from the start of the season. Their coach organized them well, he placed Mroczkowska as libero and that gave them an additional solution in offense. Preseason matches showed their play is well organized. Dirickx is great organizer and one week more they had for practice could result in even better performance. Lodz have an advantage of playing at home, but last season Wroclaw chased them from their own arena at the end of the season and achieved an easy win. Today they look like a better team than they were at the end of the last season while Lotz seem the same. Home team lacks height, their coach admitted that at the start of the season and they will miss Pycia in block today. That is another advantage that goes in the favor of the visiting team. Wroclaw blocking was great in the first round and they are individually a better team also and I believe they can win this road game and I take their 3-0 or 3-1 win for a medium stake. Details

Hungary is very weakened. They will have a tough time againsta Greece without with five, by my opinion, key players. Horvath is Hungary's best player for years, Milovits is the first setter. Add reliable setters Lilliom and Dekany to the list together with hitter E. Nagy and even those less aquainted with volleyball will realize just what a handicap this is. If one so wishes you may want to add the absence of the experienced libero Toth who played in the first round of qualification but was left out this time. On the court there will be players who are part of the national team for years but it just isn't it. They practically haven't played together even in training. Collective play is very important in volleyball and another fact is that the replacements sitting the bench are not as good as those that are missing. To make some things clear, Greece is no super power, but they are by far the more organized. They spent al lot of time together in training and they have experience of previous rounds which will give them advantage in this match. Comparing the line-up which we'll see today, Greece has more individual quality and there should be no argument on collective play. The Greeks took these qualifying seriously and as their head coach says the scouting was done well. The Hungarian coach stated that the Greece team is completely new to them and if he isn't lying by the time he realises who he's dealing with it'll be 1-0 for the Greeks. Bottom line, better preparation, more individual quality, better scouting for the game all point to a higher stake put on Greece's win. Details

I don't see this match as a one-way road to the advantage of Uralochka. It seems to me the best choice is over, set for Maureen O'Hara is payed less, and one match without much smashing from either side brings this match to over. Uralochka played well at Dinamo from Moscow and lost in five sets so they will surely not look overly fresh today like they did in that match. Even more than that exhausting game I believe that the long trip which lasted more than half a day will have more effect on their performance today. A certain problem will also be the time difference. They played their final part of the preparations in Belarus, then they played in Moscow and today they will play in Ulan Ude, a city in the east of Russia which has a +5 hours time difference from Moscow. In addition to all that, the match is played at a completely different time from the one in the first round. Furthermore, Uralochka are weaker than last year, today's match will be missed by Ruiz, Zaryazhko and Jack. They were missing in the first round too but today their absences could be more influential because there will be fatigue in the team and they have a limited choice of players. Last season Uralochka didn't shine in away matches, finishing the regular season with a ratio of 4-7. The home team are not a harmless opponent at all, they will have a decent support in the stands as the arena will certainly be well filled. Their confidence grew with the win in the debut match in Superliga against Ufimochka in a dramatic duel in five sets. Today they will look for a surprise. Maureen O'Hara had more time to prepare for this match, they are not a bad team at all and have a number of players with Superliga experience. They confirmed their quality by their second place in the Siberia Cup in the beginning of the month where, among other teams, they won against the very strong Fakel with 3-0. According to the recent announcements, the Czech Pastulova will not appear today as well while the Uzbek Arslanbekova should start the match. I expect Maureen O'Hara to show a decent resistance and plays better than in the first round and makes this match unpredictable. They need to use the fatigue of Uralochka and the absences. The coach of the home team believes that this could be an even match. If everything goes as planned, over should happen here. Details

There is no reason not to bet on Dinamo Krasnodar winning this one. They've brought in some great reinforcements during the summer, the brought Gamova, the best volleyball player in Russia in the last decade, and immediately declared her the club captain. They also brought in a great Cuban player Calderon, reliable Spasojevic, and great Dianskaya. Kryuchkova will play as libero and the team will not feature the injured Matienko, but I don't see this as a too big downside, as she was also missing during the preparations and it is better that Uraleva plays, as she's got the hang of playing with Calderon, Sokolova, and Spasojevic. The home court will be an additional advantage for Krasnodar who will want to give a great performance for their home fans in the first round and justify the huge money invested in the team. They were great during the pre-season preparations and everything seems to be working properly. They will not need any additional motive than playing against the reigning champions. In my opinion, Dinamo Kazan won't go into the first round with the same zeal as the home team, as they have three consecutive titles. A lot of their game depends on Gamova, and if she doesn't play the way she is expected to, which is known to happen in early season, there is nobody to replace her. They will also miss Larson and this is a huge handicap for me, Startseva will not be on her best after her injury, Borodakova is far from her best day, judging by her performances in the World Grand Prix which cost her the place in the national team. This is all very reminiscent of the game two season ago when they played in the third round and Dinamo Kazan came as the reigning champions and lost 3-0 to newly-improved Krasnodar in front of Krasnodar's euphoric fans. These 2.40 odds that can be found on the market are a good value, and everything above 2.00 should be played with a medium stake. Details

Even though this is a duel in the first round, there should be no doubts about the winner. The home team is a significant favourite, the transfer window went great as they kept all important players from last season and brought in a few who should be a true reinforcement. Many see the Novy Urengoy team as a dark horse of the championship because they've set together a great team with every position doubled by a good substitution. In comparison, the Tyumen team doesn't look any different from last year, maybe even a bit weaker. Judging by the games in the preseason, Fakel is in better form. They won against Tyumen in the Siberian Cup game on neutral ground two weeks ago with a 3-1 score and a 21 point difference. The interesting thing is that these two teams closed the regular part of the season last year by a game in which Fakel convincingly won as the home team with a 3-0 (25-16; 25-11; 25-13). It wasn't a game of no importance; they fought for the seventh place and to avoid the current champion Dinamo from Kazan in the quarterfinal of the play-off. In the past, Fakel were more successful. They played eight times and Fakel won 6 times. Tyumen were never victorious in Novy Urengoy, never won a point and won a set in an away game just once. I can't see why today should be any different because Fakel is stronger than ever and I will back up their game with a handicap win. Details

I don't see this semifinal as a one-way street, the way bookmakers do. Germany's win currently pays 1.17. There's nothing unknown between these two teams, they played each other five times in the European League this year. Belgium won twice, Germany three times, including the most important match, the European League final. How? With difficulty, in five sets. I can't make a comparison with today's margin for total points, since in the European League a set was played to 21 points won. It's clear that, if they had been played by the usual rules, three of the five matches would have gone over, using the margin we have today. My first idea was to bet Belgium to win a set, but as this pays less, over is a better value. Taking the position that the match will not finish 3-0, and that an average set will have 45 points, it is possible to play the over at 179.5, for a lower amount, certainly. Germany is billed a clear favorite here, based on the 3-0 win against Croatia, but they would have lost a set in that match almost certainly hadn't the linesmen called Croatia's ace serve out, with the result 22-20 in the first set. Today they shouldn't have this kind of help from officials, since Hawkeye will be used. Belgium has quality, and they know how to play Germany. Compared to the European League matches, the Belgians will be stronger with the additions of Heyrmann and Rousseaux, both starters. The Belgians are underestimated also for their difficult win against France, but the opponents really played a great game. Belgium was under pressure, as everybody expected them to reach the semifinal. There will be no pressure today, they can play relaxed, since they're not expected in the final. Germany is foreseen there, they have declared that winning gold is their goal. I don't think the Germans will reach the final easily, so I will take the over at this margin. Alternatively, one could take the over for Belgium's points, e.g. Bet365 has 75.5. Details