Anadolu Efes – Valencia. Prediction and announcement regarding the Euroleague match

The match between Anadolu Efes and Valencia will take place in Istanbul on Friday, October 20. The match will start at 20.30 Kyiv time.

In the Euroleague, the regular season is gaining momentum and the teams are gradually distributed according to the rankings. In most cases, pre-season plans are still being confirmed. But there are a few exceptions in both directions. Thus, Turkish giant Anadolu Efes was predicted by most experts to compete at least in the play-offs, but the Istanbul club still remains at the bottom of the standings. And Valencia were destined to remain at the bottom of the peloton, but after three rounds the Spaniards are at the top and unbeaten in the strongest club tournament of the Old World. And today these clubs will face each other on the Bosphorus shore.

Anadolu Efes

The Turkish giants made many important changes during the off-season. Ergin Ataman, Efes’ long-term mentor and part-time one of the most successful, authoritative and shocking coaches in Europe, most recently leading Efes to two consecutive championships in the Euroleague (2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons). , left the team. Serbian defender Vasilije Micic also left the team at the same time. Recently, an important Istanbul player decided to try his luck in the NBA.

Instead of Ataman, the management invited Erdem Can, who reached the European Cup final with Türk Telekom last season and was the best coach of the tournament, to the coaching bridge. The new helmsman brought athletic American Tyreek Jones and local player Erkan Yılmaz from his former club to Efes. However, the real signing of the entry was the transfer of defender Darius Thompson, Baskonia’s leader last year. The club also managed to retain many key players such as Shane Larkin, Rodrigue Beaubois, Ante Zizic, Will Clyburn, Tibor Pleiss and Elijah Bryant.

Despite its solid squad, Efes started the new Euroleague season very poorly. The team at the start of the tournament looks pretty disorganized. In the first two rounds, the Turks lost against Barcelona with 74:91 and at home against Real Madrid with 80:103 without giving the slightest chance. The Istanbul team was so bad in these matches that rumors spread in the European basketball community that Erdem Can would resign soon. The victory three days ago over the French “Asvel” – 89:84 somewhat calmed the ill-wishers. Although this result + three wins in the three matches played so far at the beginning of the Turkish championship give Efes’ new coach some breathing room, a win against Valencia is highly desirable.

Valencia

The Spanish club does not have an A license in the Euroleague and has retained its place in the strongest European Cup of the 2023/2024 season thanks to its voluntary refusal to participate in the Gran Canaria tournament. Realizing that they would once again have to compete with the best clubs on the continent, the Levantines tried to assemble a competitive squad, especially since they lost the excellent Cuban Hasiel Rivero and American James Webb (both transferred to Maccabi Tel Aviv) in the off-season. ). Instead, the club added big man Brandon Davis, who has status by Euroleague standards, French forward Damien Ingley from Gran Canaria and experienced Serbian defenseman Stefan Jovic from Zaragoza.

Overall, Valencia’s squad is pretty good, although it lacks world-class stars. But the problem for the Levantines is that most of their Euroleague rivals have rosters full of top players. Despite this, the Spaniards achieved three victories in the first three rounds of European Cup status. Chronologically, Monaco lost 70:65, Fenerbahce 77:74 and Maccabi Tel Aviv 75:66. It is worth noting that Levantines played all three of these matches at home. In the Spanish Championship, Alex Mumbru’s team remained undefeated, beating middle peasants Obradoiro and Rio Breogan in the first two rounds.

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Efes Pilsen seems to be the favorite of the upcoming meeting in terms of status and potential. However, the Turkish club’s current far from brilliant form and, on the contrary, Valencia’s excellent start make today’s match quite unpredictable. However, the chances of success for parquet owners still seem more preferable.

Sport.ua prediction: Anadolu Efes’ victory

1.33 – 3.45 place bet money Zrobiti bet