EuroLeague: Anadolu Efes vs. Real Madrid Preview, Odds, Head to Head, Prediction

Shaken and hurt Euroleague champions, Anadolu Efes awaits Real Madrid in the postponed match of the 24th round. The catastrophic earthquake in Turkey forced the hosts to cancel the game at the time and reschedule it for this Tuesday. Efes is currently tenth in the standings and outside the playoff zone, meaning a win over Los Blancos is a must. As for the Spanish unit, they sit second one triumph behind Olympiacos, and are eager to triumph tonight and keep on chasing the Greek powerhouse and the No.1 seed. 

Anadolu Efes vs. Real Madrid  Preview

Anadolu Efes (-110) suffered two hard losses last week in back-to-back Euroleague games. After being trashed in Belgrade to Red Star, 94-75, Efes hosted Maccabi Tel Avivi in what was one of the key games for their playoff ambitions. 

The guests from Israel went home with a big triumph, 86-64, creating a gap between them and the Turkish unit and also getting an edge in the direct encounters. What was noticeable in Efes’ game was a very poor three-point shooting and only four hits in 28 attempts which is a significant drop following 52% in Belgrade. 

Efes met with Bahcesehir Koleji this weekend, winning 73-62 on the road. The offense of the back-to-back European champs is very shaky, and we aren’t seeing them imposing the tempo as they did in the past. Will Clyburn might be one of the best iso players on the continent, but he slows down the ball movement a lot. 

Real Madrid (-105) is in excellent shape, having six Euroleague triumphs in the past seven events, with the sole loss coming to Cazoo Baskonia, who defeated them in Madrid last Tuesday, 85-81. Some would say that the Spaniards stick together and that Los Blancos didn’t want to deny Baskonia’s chances for the Top 8, but we don’t believe in such talks. 

After that, Real was better than Valencia, 95-91, also at home, and that’s why we aren’t buying the speculations mentioned above. It was a hard-earned victory for Mateo Chus’ unit, who is, as stated, one win behind Olympiakos in the Euroleague standings. 

Real was better than Bilbao on Sunday, 86-65, posting an easy win and jeeping the scorers hot for the international challenges. In the last EuroLeague win, Deck scored 18 points, Tavares 14, while against Bilbao, Causeur had 16, and Abalde and Ndiaye ended the night with 14 each. 

Anadolu Efes vs. Real Madrid  Latest News

Balabay is out for the hosts and the only player who won’t be ready for this one. 

On the other side, the veteran Sergio Lull is injured for Real.

Anadolu Efes vs. Real Madrid  Head to Head Games

Real was better in the first clash this year, 94-85, played in Madrid. Also, we need to mention that these units met in the previous Euroleague finals and that Efes won the European crown, with Vasilije Micic hitting the key three in a match that ended 58-57 for the Turks.

Anadolu Efes vs. Real Madrid  Prediction

Real remember that loss in the finals, and the Spaniards are coming to Istanbul to win, have no doubt about that. Efes is in poor shape, and the players are far from their usual form, so betting on the guests is a good idea.

Pick: Real Madrid -105