MUNICH (Germany) - After opening the campaign with two disappointing losses, LDLC ASVEL Feminin will be looking to finally ignite their season when they face Valencia Basket Club in the Game of the Week on Gameday 3.

With six matchups scheduled up for Wednesday and another two games taking place on Thursday, there's plenty to look forward to - including our Beat the Expert segment featuring Jelena Dubljevic this week,  where also have the chance to take part in the prediction game. 

Game of the Week: ASVEL LDLC Feminin vs Valencia Basket Club

It's been something of a nightmare start to the season for ASVEL LDLC Feminin, with a string of big defeats as they continue to slowly get back to strength as their long list of absences shortens. With star players Marine Johannes and Gabby Williams having been unavailable, the return last week of Julie Allemand and Endy Miyem was welcomed.

Perhaps summarizing their bad luck, they were still without the injured Laura Quevedo and Juste Jocyte and while it's not time to hit the panic button, the alarm bells are beginning to sound. Even with missing players, ASVEL has some stellar names and will be expected to put in their best performance so far in pursuit of a first victory. But Valencia Basket Club will be a seriously tough opponent and have a long rotation that will see them keen to capitalize on the situation and pile even more misery on ASVEL.

You can watch the live broadcast of the game between LDLC ASVEL Feminin and Valencia Basket Club with commentary on the EuroLeague Women YouTube channel on Wednesday, October 18 at 20:00 CET.

Key matchup: German national team standout Marie Guelich continues to show her quality in the competition and comes into this Game of the Week showdown having been the central figure in Valencia's win last week with a smart double-double off the bench.

That means there could be work to do for the experienced Sandrine Gruda in trying to nullify that threat as ASVEL try to get back on track. She is likely to share that mission with fellow center, Helena Ciak. 

Predictions: The Expert vs Jelena Dubljevic

Each week our resident EuroLeague Women expert Paul Nilsen faces a different guest challenger in our prediction game. Fans also have the chance to show their prediction skills in the voting below. The first weeks of action saw prediction honors going to the expert.

Our guest for Week 3 is Montenegro national team legend Jelena Dubljevic who played in the 2023 title game for Cukurova Basketbol Mersin before announcing her retirement from the sport this past summer. 

SCHEDULE	THE EXPERT	JELENA DUBLJEVIC
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18
Serco UNI Gyor vs ZVVZ USK Praha
Basket Landes vs KGHM BC Polkowice
Casademont Zaragoza vs Fenerbahce Alagoz Holding
Beretta Famila Schio vs DVTK HUN-Therm
LDLC ASVEL Feminin vs Valencia Basket Club
Villeneuve d'Ascq LM vs Cukurova Basketbol Mersin
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19
Polski Cukier AZS UMCS Lublin vs ACS Sepsi-SIC
Virtus Segafredo Bologna vs Pefumerias Avenida

Do you have what it takes?

Predict the winners of this week's games below!

Season predictions so far:

The Expert: 15/16 (93.8%)
The Guest: 12/16 (75%)
The Fans: 13/16 (81%)

Number of the Week: 12

By the end of this third week, it is guaranteed to be at least 12 of the 16 participating clubs will have recorded a victory. That's because with 11 teams having already celebrated a success within the first two weeks. The still winless ACS Sepsi-SIC and Polski Cukier ASZ UMCS Lublin are scheduled to meet. It underlines the highly competitive nature of the competition and it makes you wonder if it will be 12 - or 13, 14 or 15 teams that will have wins when the curtain falls on Week 3!

Question of the Week: Will the arrival of Sykes take KGHM BC Polkowice to the post-season?

One of the biggest stories from the past week or so has been firstly the arrival of Brittney Sykes at KGHM BC Polkowice, followed by her excellent debut which took them to a first victory of the season after taking down ZVVZ USK Praha.

You may all remember that last year, Polkowice started brilliantly and then faded down the stretch to miss out on the Quarter-Finals by one spot. But this year, has the arrival of Sykes given them that extra edge they need to reach the top four of Group B?

Let us know what you think in the poll below!

FIBA