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Midtjylland have great back court with Holm on the left back and Gjessing, they also have many other good players and they dominate the second league. Their win over Aalborg in the Cup proves they already have what it takes to compete in the first league. They limited Danish champions to 25 goals and went trough and today they are hosting tired Mors, a team that played in Norway and are without their right back who suffered an injury. Home team are definitely at advantage in this game and I would not be surprised to see them in Final Four. Mors struggle with opponents that play tough defense, that is how they lost against Kodling, BSV and Holstebro and today they are facing another tough and solid defense. Details

The Hungarians are quite hyped ahead of hosting the eminent club from Greece although their reputation is not the best. Alba won the Hungarian title (won against the ABA League team of Szolnoki) but little is left of the last year's team. Their game is lead by the young 22-year-old Americans Kemp, Moore and Hobbs who don't have too much experience in matches like these. In addition, they are not really playing at home but in the 40 km distant Veszprem where they are not used to playing and the court and the surroundings are perhaps just a little bit better known to them than to the away team. PAOK are traditionally relying a lot on defense. Lately they are playing very well and they are full of confidence. They should dominate in rebounds and they are aware that a wrong step against Hungarians in this difficult group will put them in a submissive state. Alba went over this margin 2 out of 4 times in Hungarian league where they meet a much more modest teams than this one. Details

Federer took advantage of the favorable draw in the first round, and he'll do the same here. Istomin and him met four times so far, and Istomin managed to win more than three games only once in seven sets they played. Their last head to head match took place at Indian Wells. Istomin didn't have a single break point opportunity and lost his service game three times. It happened in the first round when Federer usually tends to experiment with his game. Regardless of that, his win was very convincing. Istomin is playing aggressively, but flat and with no changes in the pace, which suits Federer well. Isomin forfeited once, but never managed to overcome this handicap. Federer was the second one to serve in the first round match, but still managed to overcome it. I don's see how Istomin can reach a break today. He needed 12 break points to win two breaks against Zeballos, but he will struggle greatly with his serve, because Federer will have no problem neutralizing it. All in all, Istomin's game style suits him. Details

In my opinion these odds are a big mistake, and by tonight the odds for the under will fall considerably. But while the betting houses are keeping them so high, you should seize it. I think everything is clear when you take a look at both coaches’ statements, pertaining to the terrain on which the match is to be played. CSKA were overjoyed with UEFAs clearance for the field, since in "normal" circumstances they would have no chances. They will park the bus and try to muscle their way out of this game. Any amount of open gameplay would be suicide for them, considering that the team failed to score in 6 out of 7 last matches. On other hand it is clear that City would prefer an open, showman’s game, but this will be impossible on such a field. Pellegrini said he fears it would rain, but the forecast dissuaged him, there are some slim chances for rainfall, but even without rain this under still has good value. A horrible field, several degrees above zero, and a few drops of rain that will turn CSKAs potato field to muck (but not so much as to postpone the match), the chances for many goals could not be slimmer Details

Both Nymburk and Cibona are teams who prefer fast transition and I believe we should be watching a more efficient game. The Croatian champion has a bad European competition streak but they now have a chance to threaten Nymburk. The Czech team often concedes more than 80 points in international competitions. In the four games outside the national championship, they always conceded over that margin (Banvit 87, Kalev 78, Oostende 90, Azovmash 80). Even though they didn't play a single game on the home court, that doesn't have a significant effect on their play. Nymburk insist on fast play action. The margin is pretty low and I believe that Cibona will go over it without bigger problems. Details

MZT have a historical game ahead of them, playing on the home court in Europe for the first time, and hosting a very uncomfortable Maccabi Haifa team who kept up great in the last two games against Unics and Maccabi from Tel Aviv. MZT have injury issues, and Damjan Stojanovski is definitely out. The second player on that position, Cade Davis, also got injured, so they'll have a lot of problems on the shooting positions. Sinovec will get a lot of minutes since nobody else is qualified enough, and the question is whether he'll be able to do it himself. Macedonians are strong under the basket, but Hapoel has Ofoegba, who's playing excellent from the beginning of the season. They can match the Macedonians on all positions, and even be stronger on some positions, regardless of MZT playing on the home court. Maccabi had a lot of bad luck at the beginning of the season, even leading against the great Maccabi with 17 points difference, which proves they can play well in the away games. The best option to me seems to be the counter-handicap, and I don't believe the Macedonians can cover it. 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

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

From the beginning of the season Khimik have been putting a lot of emphasis on defense, which clearly reflects on their results. A week ago they conceded 60 in Ankara, just as they did in regular time against Goverla this weekend. Nizhny are an unpredictable team. They could beat any team, but they could also easily lose against all of them. Interestingly enough, they usually adapt to the tempo of their opponents. In Estonia they played in a game that had a total of 170 points, while against Lietuvos the total was under 140 points. Today they will be up against a very aggressive home side that excels on defense, and I don't think that the total can go over the set margin. Details

When setting up the odds, the bookmakers were led by the last week victory of Spartak in Turkey, but that is in no way a realistic image of the team's quality. Besiktas have had a disastrous evening on the offense, and the defeats vs Donetsk and Turow are a better reflection of the current quality of Spartak. Due to financial issues, Spartak have lost all the players that carried their team last season during the summer , and their offense shows that. Vetra do not have sufficient width, their game depends on too few players, and Spartak have not scored more than 65 points in any of their matches. They will not easily do so today either, as Panionios have a very tough defense. They are the third best team in Greece at the moment, right after the untouchable duo, and in my opinion they are a better team than Spartak. The Russian team are playing at home, but there is no way they can be that much of a favorite. I believe this to be a huge mistake by the booking houses, and expect a game with less points and neither of the teams demolishing their opponent. Panionios are definitely capable of winning here, so it's worth trying a smaller bet on them to win too. Details

Valencia is a tournament at which Granollers always plays his best tennis. Three years ago he reached the finale after qualifications and then he won the tournament and had four wins over top 20 players. Last year he reached quarter-finale. Regarding Forgini, he had two difficult sets against Klizan who came to Valencia completely unprepared. The Slovakian player did not play since New York and arm injury and he lost strength in the third set. The Italian used his chance, as he did against Kubot in Vienna, but this time he has a difficult task. Th Spaniard can attack and defend, he has better serve that the Italian and these are conditions that suit him perfectly. They played many times and the only match they played on hardcourt was won by Granollers. Fognini has a reputation as a player that ends his seasons poorly and these are not his favorable conditions and we can count on his lack of motivation, as he often exhibits that. Something like that happened to him in the second round in Vienna where he managed to win only two games in two sets. Details

Florida are hosting strong defensive team again, the defending champions Chicago. The visiting team are maybe the best defensive team in the league as they have shown lately by playing great defense. Florida are a rather weak team with humble offensive potential and I do not see how they can score over two goals in this game. They did not score three goals against teams of Chicago's caliber (Boston, LA) that play tough defense and I do not think they will today either. Last game they surprised Minnesota with tough defense and took the game into overtime and I think such thing might happened today again and that is why I believe that their under is much better bet. Chicago do not play games with many shots on goal, they come to play tough defense and today Florida will have a difficult time scoring over two goals and I do not wish to forecast the final result because it mostly depends on Florida's defensive performance. Details

Porto are almost always the favorites at their own stadium, but rating them at such ridiculous odds is going too far in my opinion. Zenit are playing some amazing football, they are stronger than ever, literally steamrolling over their competition in Russia, and only bad luck and referees' mistakes prevented them from getting more points in the Champions League. Even though Spalletti says this isn't necessarily a critical game, we need to be realistic and say that this is a do or die match for them. Not many would put pressure on an in-form team ahead of an important match, and Spalletti's statements are logical attempts to reduce it, as he believes his team can achieve their goal if they keep playing at their best. The only mitigating circumstance for them could be if Atletico secure their progress already after four games (which is very likely, as they have two games against Austria) and go into the fifth at Petrovsky with some reservations. But Zenit can in no way rely on that, especially as this would give Porto the same advantage in their sixth game away at Calderon. Therefore, Zenit must not lose today. Reasons to believe in Zenit's positive outcome are aplenty, and the potential key figure for many in this match is Hulk, who is in top form and he could easily wreak havoc in Porto's defense, which he knows very well. Even though I'm deeply convinced that Zenit will leave Portugal undefeated, due to excellent odds and Witsel's absence I will go for a more conservative option in the form of a +1 handicap, which would see our stake return if Porto win by one goal. I expected these odds on x2. Details

Zenit are arriving to Macerata fully prepared for the competition, and that is extremely important for this bet at the moment. They've played 11 games in the Russian Cup, and the last one was vs Belgorod in the Supercup. They held a two set advantage only to lose the next three. Macerata and Zenit both have a new setter, but it is obvious that Baranowicz is taking much longer to adjust to Macerata than the legendary Grbic to Zenit. The Italians are still making many mistakes, especially on the serve, and Zenit do not forgive such errors. They largely depend on Zaytsev and Kurek, and if one of those is shut down, Macerata will be in big trouble. The Russians have four players who won the gold in the recent European Championship against the very Italians (Apalikov, Sivozhelez, Verbov, Mikhailov). There are also players who contributed to winning the World League; Kazakov, Volkov, Kobzar, Abrosimov, and if we add the American national team member Anderson to those, it becomes quite clear how powerful this team is. They are a much bigger favorite than the odds tell. Details

Mons have lost their two last games, and Roma won their last; this is the reason for these odds. I think it's a bit far-fetched. This is a 50-50 game, and I would say that Mons even have a slight advantage. Roma struggled against Brindisi, and we will see that Roma in the better part of this season. By losing Datome, they lost more than their best scorer, Lawal's departure took away their domination under the rim and lots of easy points after the pick. On the other hand, Mons have been playing well below their reputation, but Battle and Vaden can do a lot lot better, especially Battle, who had great numbers in a serious university such as Penn State, and then later in Europe. Roma's offense is too dependent on Goss, Jimmy Baron lost his shooting hand somewhere in Russia and has been fairly modest recently. In addition, this is the fourth match in 10 days for the Romans, and I'm not sure if they can keep up the pace, especially since Italians value their domestic championship more than the Eurocup. Details

It's a big local derby which is not just about points but also about prestige. The home team coach is defensive by nature and he rarely goes for open outplaying. Today he'll be without the important attacker Keller with two returnees after injuries so I think the offense will not look better than before. The defense is generally more than solid. His colleague on the other side also prefers responsible and careful play. If the opponent does not force it, Kloten won't skate around on the ice. What it looks like they have shown in the last three games in which they allowed no goals, but they weren't that efficient themselves either. Both are statistically below 5.5 goals on the average (no matter that Kloten is on paper the most efficient scoring team in the league). Zurich at home has 6-2 on under, just like Kloten in away games. Both have in those games an average of less than 5 goals. If we take out Kloten's fluke match against Zug (7:5), than their average in last eight games is barely above 3 goals per game. I believe that series will continue. Details

This is a very important game for both teams, both teams suffered a defeat in the first round and this is their chance to get back into the game. Both teams have many new players, they are still learning to play as a team and they are not brilliant offensively. Since this is important game I do not see these teams playing run basketball at any cost. Buducnost do not allow many points to their opponents when they are playing at home, they play tough defense and TED will have difficult time scoring, especially since they had two very bad offensive games. In domestic league they scored 65 and in Eurocup only 60. Buducnost had a 151 point game against Cibona and 117 against Krka, 149 against Skopje while the only times they went over were games against PAOK and Zadar, a team that collapsed after the first quarter. If we take the importance of this game into account, I believe this game will not get over the point limit. Details

The defeat in the Cup last Saturday (to a better opponent than AmaZulu and away) is not a reason to worry. The Sundowns have only one objective set this season - winning the title again after 2007. They've been investing more than any other club, their choice of players is impressive, and I believe coach Mosimane's team will be stronger, better prepared and motivated at kick off today.
The visiting team are at least two levels below them, and that would become clear in the next period, when the teams start creating point difference in the table. They can maybe play two or three draws, and win once in the ten away games like this one (they already won away against the Pirates), but they will lose almost all the other ones. You rarely get 1,9 for teams who are so obviously at different levels. It would be a shame not to take advantage of it. Details

Altach, who are currently in the lead, are playing the role of favorite against St. Polten, especially on account of their ambition to be promoted this year, and the great winning run of 12 out of 13 home games. You can't argue with that, and who ever is up for it, can try with the home team's win at the odds, that realistically don't have the value for a bigger stake. Precisely because of that and some other things, we chose for the surprise and the home team not being defeated in this game.
We saw the match between Altach and Liefering on Friday. Altach kept a high pace up for the 90 minutes, they were in the lead twice, and allowed the opponent to equalize twice. They got in another lead in 83 minute, and their goalkeeper saved a sitter for 3-3 afterwards. They finally scored another goal few minutes before the time was up. This game drained them both mentally and physically - winning against Liefering, who beat them 5-1 in the first round, was crucial.
It usually takes two or three days to recuperate after a game, and we are inclined to believe Altach's players are much more tired than the opponent, who easily won bottom of the table team Parnford 2-0.
The other reason to have faith in the visiting team is the immense improvement they made lead by the new coach Baumgartner, who is relying on defense and exquisite tactical discipline. Baumgartner only turned his last year's team game into St. Pölten's game this year. He is great when it comes to tactics, and he'll know how stop Altach's game, which is based on strength and robust center forward Aigner, who scored nine goals already. If they stop them, half the work will already be done, and that is the visiting's team recipe for success.
St. Polten won't orient on defense completely, their offense is moving easily, they are flexible and able to create dangerous counter attacks as well. They won 7 points and conceded only one goal in the last 3 matches, which means they'd be bursting with confidence in this match. Altach lost once 1-2, and won once 4-1 in their last season's head to head matches. Maybe this game will be a tie, which would be a go for this bet, which makes more sense than what the bookmakers predict. St. Polten are playing tough and without any fear ever since Baumgarten took over and set things in motion, and the players realized that his last club, third-tier Pasching managed to bring the biggest teams in Austria, such as Rapid and Salzburg, to their knees. Details