Betting Corner: strong belief in Monaco and dismal prediction for Milan / News - Basketnews.com

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BasketNews and Andreas Blomdahl continues the Betting Corner edition, providing the best choices before the upcoming EuroLeague playoffs for sports betting enthusiasts.

Though, we want to remind you to gamble responsibly.

Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs AX Armani Exchange Milan

The series is tied 1-1 after Milan won the 2nd game 73-66. With a lot of missing players, the Shields-Rodriguez duo took responsibility, together scoring more than half of the Italians' points.

Yes, it is all square for the moment, but it has come to a big cost. Nicolo Melli got injured and will miss the rest of the series, while Malcolm Delaney faced the same destiny. Sergio Rodriguez picked up an injury in Game 2 and he is a game-time decision. On a more positive note, Gigi Datome will be available.

With all respect for the demonstrated character in Game 2, I cannot see Milan being close at a sold-out Sinan Erdem Dome.

As Armani Exchange are experiencing serious injury issues, I have Anadolu Efes as huge favorites here and I think this one can get ugly.

BET: Anadolu Efes -7.5 @ 1.90.

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv vs Real Madrid

To be honest, I had higher hopes for Maccabi in the first two games. Even though the first duel finished 84-74, they had their chances in the fourth quarter.

Real won the second match by 29 points, 95-66. When you are allowing Los Blancos to score 35 in the first period, it is over before it even started.

With that said, I cannot let go of this Maccabi team. They are unbeaten at home this year. Yes, that's 14 games without a single loss in the domestic league and EuroLeague combined.

On the other hand, Real have four straight wins. And it must be mentioned that it's easy to forget Real have struggled big time the last couple of months and there have been no consistency whatsoever. In February, the Royal club had an equal record of wins and losses, while in March, there were more defeats than victories.

Another factor is that Real Madrid did not have the weekend off like Maccabi. The Spaniards traveled to Seville and beat Real Betis 71-69. It was a tough game, and they did not get the chance to rotate, for example, Yabusele played 33 minutes, Williams-Goss 31, Tavares 28, and Abalde 28. On a more positive note, Gabriel Deck traveled with the team to Israel after recovering from COVID-19.

With more rest and back in Tel Aviv, Maccabi are favorites in my book.

BET: Maccabi Tel Aviv win @ 2.05

FC Bayern Munich vs FC Barcelona

A very surprising 1-1 here. Despite missing Corey Walden and Darrun Hilliard, Bayern managed to win Game 2. Moreover, Leon Radosevic was forced to leave the second match early due to injury.

The fact that Barcelona let the Germans score 90 points in Game 2 is nothing else than an embarrassing result for the Catalans. I have said it before and will say it again, if Barcelona wants to progress and win anything in EuroLeague this season, they must find their defense again. We could see some great defensive efforts in Game 1 (77-67) but there is still plenty of room for improvement.

A very interesting game awaits us. I think we all have a lot of question marks. How are Bayern going to score with all absences? Can Barcelona bounce back?

What I predict is a low-scoring game. Bayern only have Vladimir Lucic as a reliable scorer and Barca know that their defense is the key to victory.

When both clubs met each other at Audi Dome earlier this season, Barcelona won 80-72. If we take the playoffs stage and absentees into consideration, I think we could lower that score by 5-8 points.

BET: Under 150.5 @ 1.90

AS Monaco vs Olympiacos Piraeus

If you have read my previous reviews, it does not come as a surprise that Monaco snatched one game in Piraeus even without Alpha Diallo.

Do not get me wrong, these are two teams that I rate very high and probably higher than most of you reading this. I see Game 3 as a bit of a final.

Monaco desperately need to claim the W or they are out of competition, in my opinion. And if they win, I think they will close the series on Friday. The latter scenario is the most likely, from my point of view. Just like Maccabi, Monaco have 14 straight wins at home, and they have a great chance to make it 15.

Olympiacos are a totally different team when playing away. For example, when Monaco played Oly at home a month ago, they won 92-72.

Alpha Diallo missed Game 2 and did not play in the domestic league this weekend. It's fair to say, his status is questionable coming into this contest.

I am predicting a match, where Monaco just ball out with Mike James, Dwayne Bacon, and Donta Hall in front.

I estimate Monaco high. Nowadays, they should be favorites against all teams at home, except for Barcelona.

We find Monaco as small favorites, which I disagree with. I have them around 1.65-1.70, which means that there is no doubt about where I am putting my money.

BET: Monaco win @ 1.80.

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