Euroleague Predictions: Playoffs and Final 4

On 25 April, the EuroLeague playoffs will begin and will be the culmination of an amazing EuroLeague regular season. The intrigue was intense and it was not clear until the last minutes which team would finish in the last eight (check basketball betting sites for more information on where to bet on basketball).

The top 8 will also include legendary coach Zeljko Obradovic and Partizan, AS Monaco represented by Donatas Motiejunas, Fenerbahce Istanbul, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Real Madrid and Olympiacos, who finished first in the regular season.

In this article we will focus on the Euroleague Predictions: Top 8 pairings, the teams’ chances and an overview of the Final Four. If you like NBA, you should check out our NBA playoffs predictions.

Fenerbahce Istanbul vs BC Olympiacos Piraeus Prediction

It’s strange to see Fenerbahce in 8th place with such a line-up, but the end of the regular season was a very unsuccessful one. Even with the return of Tyler Dorsey from the NBA, the team lost more often than it won. Notably, Scottie Wilbekin, Nemanja Bjelica and Devin Booker are out due to injuries.

There is a chance that the Serbian will be ready to play from the start of the series, but he still didn’t play a big role for the team. Wilbekin is also expected to play.

Whatever the line-up, Fenerbahce is not in the best shape at the moment, as evidenced by the last regular season game, an away loss against Crvena Zvezda. That game was like a final for the team, because if they lost, they could have missed out on the play-offs altogether. This season, Olympiacos just crushed Istanbul in the regular season, winning 94:67 at home and 93:73 away.

Olympiacos is undoubtedly the favourite and it would be hard to imagine Fenerbahce returning to Istanbul with at least one win. Olympiacos lost once at home against AS Monaco last year, so the lessons should be learned and the team looks much more confident.

If we look at the Olympiacos – Fenerbahce series betting odds, we can point to Olympiacos winning the series by two wins. This means that the Greek team has to win 3:1 or 3:0.

This bet is currently priced at odds of more than 2, between 2.10 and 2.20. “Olympiacos should go to Istanbul with a 2-0 record and have already proved that they can win at least once this season.

FC Barcelona vs Zalgiris Kaunas Prediction

The FC Barcelona – Zalgiris Euroleague playoffs 2023 will undoubtedly be the most watched in Lithuania, but whether it will be the most interesting is a big question. No matter how good a season Kaunas has played, it would be naive to expect much resistance against Barcelona.

At the beginning of the season, Kaunas managed to win 73:72, but they lost 93:74 on the road, which reflects the strength of both teams.

FC Barcelona have more problems before the series, as Alex Abrines, Cory Higgins and Jan Vesely are currently unavailable due to injuries. Meanwhile, Zalgiris’ Isaiah Taylor was injured against Bayern but will be ready to play from the start of the series.

However, FC Barcelona, even with the injured players, is capable of controlling the series and Barca is one of the most talented teams in the Euroleague basketball 2023.

It is worth noting that FC Barcelona has been struggling in the play-offs for the last two years. Against both Zenit and Bayern, it took all five games, although the teams were not very strong. There is a lot of talk about the psychology of the players, which is a problem not only in the quarter-finals but also in the final four.

It would be hard to imagine Zalgiris winning in Spain even once, so there is a good chance that the series will move to Kaunas with a 2-0 record. FC Barcelona winning the series 3-0 is currently being given odds of just over 2. However, looking at the team’s history in the play-offs, this is not the most valuable bet.

It would certainly not be surprising if Zalgiris somehow escaped at home in the third game and FC Barcelona closed the series in the fourth game. For this reason, we recommend paying attention to the third match and if Zalgiris comes home with a 0:2 defeat, a bet on Zalgiris in the third match could be a worthwhile option.

Real Madrid vs Partizan Belgrade Prediction

This has the potential to be the most exciting Euroleague playoffs series ever, and the main reason for that is the impressive atmosphere in Belgrade. Yes, Partizan will need to somehow beat Real away to advance to the next round, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they had three chances to do so.

Partizan has won 12 out of 17 games at home this season, including 104:90 against Real. In Madrid, the defeat was 97:105 at the start of the season.

Yes, Real Madrid has more experience and is a team that has maintained its core for many years, but Partizan is one of the hottest teams in the Euroleague right now. They finished the season with a record of 11 wins and 3 losses. The unbeaten teams were Olympiacos, Anadolu Efes, Real and AS Monaco.

If we look at Real Madrid, with Chus Mateo at the helm, the team doesn’t look as confident as in previous seasons, so it wouldn’t be a big surprise to see all five games in this series, or for the series to be closed in Belgrade by a Partizan team.

The team coached by Zeljko Obradovic has less experience, but all key players have seen the Euroleague Final Four and James Nunnally won the Euroleague in 2017.

With everything resting on the shoulders of Dante Exum, Kevin Punter, Zach LeDay, Mathias Lessort and the aforementioned James Nunnally, most of them know what it’s like to play in the playoffs, and that could be enough.

Looking at the series odds, Partizan advancing to the next round is at odds of more than 4, which is definitely worth considering. If that seems too high a risk, the odds of a five-match series are 2.9 – 3. Partizan have everything to beat Real both times at home and even if they come back from Madrid with a 0:2 record, it’s certainly realistic that the series will return to Madrid.

AS Monaco vs Tel Aviv Maccabi Prediction

Tel Aviv Maccabi have shown a unique record this season. The team has won 15 out of 17 games at home, but only 5 wins and 12 losses on the road. The team’s home and away play has been like night and day, and looking at the series against AS Monaco, this will undoubtedly be the biggest disadvantage, as AS Monaco has the home advantage.

Maccabi have injury problems, with Lorenzo Brown unsure if he will be able to play and Bonzie Colson injured in the domestic championship. However, Alex Poythress has joined the team after recovering from his injury.

If Brown can play, Maccabi has a good chance to win both games at home, so even if they lose the series 0:2, there is a good chance that we will see a fifth game.

Monaco is considered the favourite in this series and there is a good chance that they will be the ones to reach the Final Four. A lot of the team has experience from last year’s playoffs and AS Monaco is also very solid at home.

So it looks like neither team is destined to win away in this series, so it will all come down to the deciding game, where AS Monaco will have the support of their home fans. For this reason, a bet on five games in the series is definitely worth a look.

Euroleague Predictions: Final Four

Euroleague Final Four 2023 will take place in Kaunas, so there is no doubt that fans are hoping to see Zalgiris Kaunas there. However, it will be extremely difficult to overcome the barrier of FC Barcelona. Not only because Barcelona is full of talented players, but also because Šarūnas Jasikevičius’ team is one of the main favourites to become champions.

Last season, Olympiacos closed the door on the Euroleague final with a last-second three-pointer by Vasilije Micic. This year, the team looks to have taken another step forward, and with a semi-final against the winner of the AS Monaco-Maccabi pairing, there is a good chance that Piraeus will finally make it back to the final.

Barring any surprises, our Euroleague Predictions for the second pairing of the Final Four are that the semi-finals should see FC Barcelona take on Real Madrid. Teams that know each other well would repeat last year’s semi-final, where Barcelona very disappointingly let victory slip through their fingers.

This year, FC Barcelona has a better chance of playing in the final, as Real will have to overcome a difficult barrier in the play-offs. It would not be a big surprise if we saw a semi-final between FC Barcelona and Partizan here.

If FC Barcelona plays in the Euroleague final, there is no doubt that the team will feel almost at home. Most of the arena will be filled with Lithuanians, and the love of Kaunas and the whole of Lithuania for Šarūnas Jasikevičius goes without saying.

In addition to the Lithuanian coaches, former Zalgiris player Rokas Jokubaitis is also playing here, so FC Barcelona will definitely have his support, and it would be very symbolic for Š. Jasikevičius to win the EuroLeague for the first time as a coach in Kaunas. If FC Barcelona does not have any injured players, including the aforementioned players, this team is the main favourite to lift the Champions Trophy.