Game of the Week: Will Mersin show they're the real deal against the title holders?

SOPRON (Hungary) - The race for top spot in Group B is heating up and opportunity knocks for the ambitious CBK Mersin Yenisehir to show their potential when they face reigning champions Sopron Basket.

The Turkish team land in Hungary looking to take down the current Group B leaders and also extract revenge for their crushing home defeat to Sopron earlier in the campaign. They also come into the game having beaten Fenerbahce Alagoz Holding this past weekend in the domestic action in the wake of making a coaching change, with Ekrem Memnun departing.

Meanwhile, Sopron fans will no doubt provide a great reception to the returning playmaker Briann January who was pivotal in their historic title success last season. Her duel against her former backcourt partner and legend Zsofia Fegyverneky will be one to relish for anyone watching as these two super veterans lead their respective teams.

You can watch the live broadcast of the game between Sopron Basket and CBK Mersin Yenisehir Bld on the EuroLeague Women YouTube channel on Thursday, January 12 at 18:00 CET.

Form guide: Sopron are at the top of Group B with a 6-2 record, having lost one home game on their own floor so far. In the Hungarian league, they are also in the number one position with a 14-1 record.

Mersin are currently in second place in the group with 5 wins and 3 losses, while in the Turkish league they are in pole position with 13 wins and just 1 loss.

Last meeting: This is only the second ever meeting between the teams in the competition and the first fixture to take place on Hungarian soil. Sopron Basket claimed a superb 75-50 road win earlier this season, paced by Brittney Sykes and her 18 points and 12 assists, but she has since moved to Girona. Interestingly, Jonquel Jones claimed a double-double for Mersin on that day and she has also departed. 

Jelena Brooks is more influential than ever for Sopron Basket and will face another veteran in DeWanna Bonner

Key matchup: While the previously mentioned Fegyverneky and January battle will be pivotal, it is not the only veteran matchup on show. What about the prospect of the in-form Jelena Brooks facing DeWanna Bonner in the forward spot? Both have done it all down the years in EuroLeague Women and with Bonner having played 40 minutes in Mersin's last game against Avenida, her value is still huge, while Brooks top scored again for Sopron.

'X-factor': Many games at the elite level come down to details and this feels like a clash which will be uber-focused on the smallest of those. Packed with experienced players and with little separating the clubs either in terms of their respective season records or in statistical performances across various categories, will it come down to simply who executes down the stretch? Surely it would be a surprise if there was another one-sided result like last time.

Wednesday, January 11