Betting Corner: choice of the week in Monaco and underrated Zenit / News - Basketnews.com

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As usual, before the upcoming EuroLeague round, Andreas Blomdahl and Betting Corner present the best choices for betting enthusiasts.

After correctly predicting all four events in the first week, Andreas went with 3 correct predictions out of 5 possible. This time, before Round 23, he's going with four predictions once again.

Most importantly, we remind you to gamble responsibly.

Zenit St. Petersburg vs Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Crucial game for both teams in the hunt for a playoff spot.

After losing at home against Monaco, Zenit won easily away to Saratov in the VTB United League. Thanks to Adrien Moermann's buzzer-beater, Efes beat Panathinaikos at home last week and followed that up with losing in Izmir against Pinar Karsiyaka.

The biggest reason for choosing Zenit is that Efes are not looking good at all when playing away, their away record in the EuroLeague is 3-7. Also, Efes' recent performances have been poor, while Shane Larkin and James Anderson suffered injuries.

For me, Zenit is what Zenit is. You always know what you will get from Xavi Pascual's team. Shabazz Nappier and Connor Frankamp are probably still out, while Tyson Carter should be available.

The Russians should never be underdogs here, it's a completely 50/50 game for me which makes a bet obvious with the prices we're being offered.

BET: Zenit Saint Petersburg ML (Win including overtime) @ 2.10

FC Barcelona vs LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne

Barcelona is coming into this game inspired by a very impressive game in Madrid, winning the El Clasico 85-75.

ASVEL hosted FC Bayern Munich on Tuesday and lost 68-77, which summarizes a very poor performance by the French club.

We have a high on life Barcelona on one side and a struggling ASVEL on the other one. Moreover, ASVEL are experiencing a tough schedule and will be playing their 7th game in 13 days.

Due to injuries, some of the players had to play big minutes. For example, Chris Jones on Tuesday played 34 minutes against Bayern.

Barcelona will be missing Sertac Sanli due to Covid-19 and Pierre Oriola due to a sore back, while Alex Abrines is a game-time decision. Antoine Diot missed the game against Bayern for ASVEL, William Howard and David Lighty are still injured, but they got Elie Okobo and James Gist back.

The difference here is just too big, and I can see ASVEL lacking the energy required to compete against Barcelona in Palau.

BET: Barcelona -11.5 @ 1.90

UNICS Kazan vs CSKA Moscow

An interesting game between two teams who know each other very well.

UNICS got hammered in Madrid on Tuesday, losing 68-85 to Real Madrid, while CSKA demolished BC Kalev/Cramo in the VTB United league, winning 104-62.

Like I said last week when UNICS are playing at home, they usually shut down their opponents, and the game total is often very low. Coming into this game, the points average is 143.

We have a very important game for both teams, as UNICS are looking to bounce back, and CSKA are under pressure as usual.

Will Clyburn's availability is still uncertain, but other than that, it's two healthy teams.

BET: Under 153.5 @ 1.90

AS Monaco vs Real Madrid

Monaco continue to look good, and we were totally spot on last week when they beat Zenit 86-77. Last week, Real Madrid lost El Clásico but bounced back with a win against UNICS.

This one doesn't need much of an explanation, the best bet of the week, in my opinion. Monaco play a very fast type of basketball, and even Dwayne Bacon has started to score like crazy. Real Madrid are the type of team that's more than happy to cooperate with the opponent's rhythm, especially away.

Just to show an example, when Monaco played Maccabi just before New Year's Eve, the total closed on 163.5. I was expecting something similar here, and the correct in my book is around 160.5. This one should go over 160 points if the shooting percentage is just close to normal averages. Big value!

BET: Over 156.5 @ 1.90

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