Beat The Expert: Will Schio or Zaragoza wrap up a post-season spot?
MUNICH (Germany) - It's the penultimate week of Regular Season action and plenty of clubs are still in the hunt for a place in the coveted Quarter-Finals, including Schio and Zaragoza.
MUNICH (Germany) - It's the penultimate week of Regular Season action and plenty of clubs are still in the hunt for a coveted Quarter-Finals place, including Beretta Famila Schio and Casademont Zaragoza.
The duo will go head-to-head in our 'Game of the Week' which is the centerpiece of a box-office Wednesday night when all 16 clubs are in action.
The 'Beat the Expert' challenge is also reaching a crescendo, with fans having the chance to predict the winners, while our 'Guest' slot is filled by Italian journalist and self-proclaimed women's basketball addict Edoardo Pollero.
Game of the Week: Beretta Famila Schio vs Casademont Zaragoza
The hosts are on a roll and have won five of their last six games, taking the scalp of reigning champions, Fenerbahce Alagoz Holding in their previous home game. That has catapulted them into a fourth place in Group A, locked on an 8-4 record with Zaragoza.
Their opponents are coming off the back of a disappointing 85-56 loss to Spanish rivals Valencia Basket Club in what numbers-wise, was their worst result of the campaign. In the corresponding fixture earlier in the season, Casademont Zaragoza dug out a 56-51 win in a defensively-dominated encounter.
You can watch the live broadcast of the game between Beretta Famila Schio vs Casademont Zaragoza with commentary on the EuroLeague Women YouTube channel on Wednesday, January 24 at 20:00 CET.
Key matchup: One of the reasons for the uptick in Schio's red-hot form right now is the influence of their playmaker Arella Guirantes. Impressive in her rookie season with DVTK HUN-Therm, she has continued to impress since last summer's switch to Italy. The guard has been the standout baller for Schio and is likely to have a big say as we now enter Regular Season crunch time.
Mariona Ortiz may be tasked by Zaragoza in slowing down Guirantes and that will be a key mission in this game. The Spanish guard has already shown this season that she can, on her day, come up with some big numbers and now would be a good time to outshine her opponent and deliver her team the Quarter-Finals place they crave.
Predictions: The Expert vs Edoardo Pollero
Each week our resident EuroLeague Women expert Paul Nilsen faces a different guest challenger in our prediction game. Fans also have the opportunity to test their prediction skills in the voting below. The first 12 weeks have seen an epic battle between the fans and the expert, with both now level. Meanwhile, the guests needs something special to catch up.
Our guest for Week 13 is Italian journalist Edoardo Pollero, a contributor for OverTime Storie a Spicchi, who demonstrated his women's hoops expertise by handing in the exact same picks as the expert himself.
Do you have what it takes?
Predict the winners of this week's games below.
Season predictions so far:
The Expert: 73/96 (76%)
The Guest: 64/96 (67%)
The Fans: 73/96 (76%)
Question of the Week: Who's got the best chance from the 6-6 trio?
It's absolutely fascinating in Group B with a trio of clubs all locked in joint fourth spot with identical 6-6 records heading into these last two weeks of action.
But which of these three clubs has the best chance of making the post-season? Let us know what you think in the poll below!
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