EuroLeague Basketball Betting: R Madrid look prime to edge a tight El Clasico clash

EuroLeague Basketball Betting: R Madrid look prime to edge a tight El Clasico clash

Barca won when they met two weeks ago but the capital side look the better shot here.

IT is a measure of the ferocity of the greatest rivalry in Spanish sport that its basketball version is just as competitive as the one which takes place on the futball field.

Over 61 years, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have battled on 292 occasions in El Clasico.

The margin could scarcely be tighter. The Catalans have the upper hand – but only by two victories. 147-145 underlines that this is a duel where nothing is easily gained or lost.

On Thursday, the old foes face off again, this time in the Euroleague, just two weeks after Barca extended its small hegemony with an 86-69 victory in the Spanish ACB League.

Seeking to recapture their pole position on the continental stage, both have stumbled in recent weeks, with the Madrilenos ending a two-game Euro skid with victory at Efes Istanbul behind a towering show from Gustavo Ayon.

And while FCB’s 84-65 loss to Euroleague leaders Fenerbahce two weeks ago might have been acceptable, their subsequent 67-64 reverse at lowly Buducnost hinted at structural issues at the Palau Blaugrana which need quick fixes.

Primarily an offense which has really struggled in its last pair of outings, particularly from three-point range where Svetislav Pesic’s men have shot 26.2 per cent while also faltering at the free-throw line (60.6%).

It has squandered excellent play from centre Ante Tomic who has dominated with 12.4 points and 4.8 rebounds with a shooting accuracy only matched by Adam Hanga.

Tomic has often relished his battles with Real, where he played from 2009-12 and was a team-mate of current opponents Felipe Reyes, Sergio Llull, Rudy Fernandez and Jaycee Carroll.

And his match-up with Walter Tavares could be critical in determining whether Barca can chase a road upset, priced at 3.70.

With Llull back after missing three games, Real look more like a team capable of defending their Euroleague title, especially with the potency that they showed in coming back to edge Efes 84-82 to improve their overall record to 9-2.

They remain the competition’s highest scorers, averaging 89.64 points per game – 11 above the diminished mark of their rivals. And although Barca has the second-meanest defence at 77.82 per conceded, the Madrilenos are giving up just 79.09 with ample cover even when Llull is on the floor.

Real is 2.00 to win by 8 or more and if they can continue to stifle Barca’s offense, that gap in the all-time series could be back to just one.

Best bet:  Take under 167.5 total points in Real Madrid – FC Barcelona at 1.91

The third head coaching casualty in this season’s Euroleague was probably the least surprising. Ahmet Caki axed at Darussafaka Istanbul after the team fell to 1-10 – and into last place following last week’s 73-71 loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv.

In his place arrives Selcuk Ernak but he faces a tough debut with a trip to Panathinaikos who will see this as a great opportunity to end a three-game losing slump.

However, Darussafaka have had five losses by six points or less and have enough athleticism to be disruptive at the very least. All four previous Euroleague meetings between the teams have been extremely close, each settled by margins of six or fewer.

Panathinaikos has won three out of those four and although they are 1.08 for one more, have a look at the Turks on a margin of +8 for some good value or go under 158 total points at 1.86.

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