Barcelona vs Olimpia Milano prediction for Friday’s final-four clash of the Euroleague at Lanxess Arena in Cologne. Barcelona in the final four for the first time since 2014, face surprise semi-finalist, Olimpia Milano, to secure a place in Sunday’s final. Read on for our free prediction and betting tips.
Favorites Barcelona looking for a third season win over the Italians
Barcelona are looking for their first appearance in the final after winning the Euroleague title in 2010. The Blaugrana are having an exceptional season despite having to go through a five-match series in the last round to reach the final four. Barca are on a five-game winning streak in all competitions and are the favorites to win this match.
Pau Gasol has been a valuable addition to the Barca team. His offensive and defensive presence have been a huge plus for coach Jasikevicius’s team. Barcelona beat Milano in the two games they played in the regular season. Barcelona played one of their best defensive games of the season in the match in Milano, restricting the Italians to just 56 points. Jasikevicius knows a similar performance will see his team advance to the final.
Olimpia Milano to rely on their experienced players
Milano are playing in their first final-four game in 29 years. The Italians finished fourth in the regular season and in the final-eight round they eliminated Bayern Munich by 3-2. Milano have scored the second-most points in the Euroleague with an average of 81.51 points per game. Coach Ettore Messina’s team are the second-best shooters from the three-point arc averaging 41%.
Sergio Rodriguez is a very important player for Milano. The Spaniard has played with most of the Barca players in the Spanish national team and knows them very well. Coach Messina must make sure his team doesn’t have a similar performance against Barca as they did earlier this season. Players like Rodrigeuz, Datome, and Hines are very experienced and know how to deal in this kind of match.
Key Stats
Barcelona vs Olimpia Milano Prediction
The last two games between these teams have been easy wins for Barcelona with a 16 point margin in both games. We don’t expect this match to have the same scenario.
Coach Messina will rely heavily on Sergio Rodriguez to play the pick-and-roll in the offense and use the big guys Tarczewski, Evans and Brooks to penetrate the Barca defense.
Barca will deploy Nick Calathes to stop Rodriguez and control the tempo of the game. In all cases, we can expect a very tactical game from two very experienced and great coaches and we think it will be a low-scoring game.
Barcelona vs Olimpia Milano Betting Tips
Over 147.5 points 1.50 at bet365
Barcelona Under 82.5 points 1.50 at bet 365