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The Turkish Basketball Superliga takes no break on 24 December and the last match of the day will be a mouthwatering clash between two of Europe’s best teams, Anadolu Efes and Fenerbahce.
After a great run of 6 consecutive wins, which ended with a massive victory in Greece against Olympiakos, the hosts suffered a disappointing overtime loss against Gaziantep three days ago, a game in which the defense failed to show up. Efes has 7 wins and 3 losses in the Superliga, sitting on the 6th place. Key center Nenad Krstic continues to be unavailable for the hosts.
Fenerbahce (8-3, 3rd place) played some of the best basketball in Europe lately, winning 9 of the last 10 matches in all competitions and only losing a competitive match in Spain, against Real Madrid. Fener won its EuroLeague group with 8 wins and 1 losses, posting the 3rd best defense in Europe’s top competition. Their recent success is not exactly a surprise, as they have an unbelievable roster with NBA caliber players like Ekpe Udoh, Pero Antic, Kostas Sloukas, Jan Vesely or Nikola Kalinic.
Bet now on Anadolu Efes vs. Fenerbahce with the highest basketball odds at 1xbet
The bookies opened with Fenerbahce as slight favorites, but the odds on Anadolu Efes dropped and are still going down. They are now the favorites, with odds of about 1.85 – 1.90.
The hosts are playing at home and are a great team, worthy of respect, but you have to feel that Fenerbahce’s form and arguably superior squad makes this at least a 50-50 game. The winner is hard to predict, but what I like here is the under / over market, particularly the under.
With the Euroleague finished for the moment, both Anadolu Efes and Fenerbahce will come into this match ready to play and give it their all, as they must stay in the hunt for the title. Expect a close, competitive match with both sides stepping it up on defense, being aggressive, not conceding anything to the opposing club.
Fenerbahce is a very good defensive team, their approach here will be to use the shot clock, don’t let Efes get into rhythm. The hosts like to play a faster tempo, but when they met top teams this season, they were usually involved in lower scoring games – for example 6 days agi against Olympiakos, when they allowed only 68 points and played smart, pragmatic basketball. Also, look for Efes to pick up the energy again on the defensive end after allowing almost 100 points to Gaziantep three days ago.
The pieces are in place for an underish match and with the line at 155,5 points, I`m happy to tip the under. Hopefully there won’t be overtime, I have to keep my fingers crossed for that as it will likely be a close matchup. Prediction: Anadolu Efes – Fenerbahce 74 – 75.
Pick: under 155,5
Odds: 1.94 @ 1xBet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 7.52
Event date: 24 December
