Zenit vs Barcelona. Is it realistic for a Russian club to stop the leader of the Euroleague?

In the regular Euroleague draw, an interesting tour will take place, in which many top events are planned. Zenit lost two matches in a row, gave way to Olympiacos and lost a potential home court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. But at home, the team is doing quite well - it has seven wins and four losses. At the finish line, it is important to act accurately in order to still break into the TOP-4. This factor can become decisive in the next stage of the competition.

Barcelona have won four games in a row and are in great emotional shape. She came out on top in the standings, sharing the lead with Real Madrid. The team definitely wants to be the winner in the regular championship. On February 25, the rivals will meet on the floor of the Sibur Arena in St. Petersburg. 

• Expert Predictions Analysis
• Zenit vs Barcelona facts
• History of the confrontation
• ODDs
• Game Totals Prediction

Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Zenit vs Barcelona

Zenit

Zenit lost two matches in a row, which had an extremely negative impact on the emotional state of the basketball players. First, the team stumbled in the match with Real Madrid - 64:85. It was quite expected, because away with one of the leaders was incredibly difficult. And then followed by a completely unexpected defeat from Alba - 67:76.

In addition, a curious point is that the statistics of abandoned and missed points have almost leveled off. The attack really looks pretty good, but the defensive line frankly leaves much to be desired. Therefore, the only trump card in the sleeve of the team is the game at home. Home stands can help keep the crazy onslaught of the leader of the standings.

Barcelona

Barcelona continues to churn out victories and looks just great, literally destroying rivals. First, the team dealt with the representatives of the lower part of the standings - ASVEL (84:71), Bayern (71:66) and Panathinaikos (86:60) in succession. And the main indicator of the strength of the team was the victory over a direct competitor in the fight for first place - Real Madrid. The Blue Garnets beat the Creamy on the road with a score of 86:68. The biggest contributor to the overall success was Nicholas Laprovittola, who scored 20 points, made seven rebounds and two assists. Barcelona really want to win the regular season as it will give the team confidence ahead of the playoffs. In addition, the dominance of Spanish basketball in the European arena is almost beyond doubt.

History of the confrontation

Up to this point, the rivals have already faced each other 10 times, all matches took place in the Euroleague. The obvious advantage is on the side of Barcelona, which turned out to be stronger in seven matches. Three meetings went to the treasury of Zenith. The last face-to-face fight took place in October 2021. It took place within the framework of the first round of the current competition draw. Opponents met each other on the site of the Palau Blaugrana arena in Barcelona. The hosts of the site quite calmly dealt with the opponent with a score of 84:58. And the best player of the meeting was Mirotic, who scored 20 points, made four rebounds and one assist.

ODDs from download 1xbet

Zenit, according to the bookmaker, has a pretty good chance of final success. It is offered to bet on the potential victory of the hosts of the site with a coefficient of 2.16. But Barcelona is considered the favorite of this confrontation. To play her possible victory is given with a coefficient of 1.65. The base total of the match was set at around 150.5 points. It is offered to bet on its penetration with a coefficient of 1.81, and the reverse option is estimated at 1.89. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Game Totals Prediction

Zenit failed two matches with less strong opponents, so now it is in a difficult position. But if he wants to compete for getting into the top four of the strongest participants in the draw, he needs to consistently churn out victories at the finish line. Even the battle with the leader of the standings will have to go out with just such an attitude. But Barcelona still looks much stronger at the moment. She has already proved to everyone that she performs very convincingly on the road. We predict that the victory will go to the "blue garnet" treasury.