Zenit St. Petersburg vs Barcelona prediction for Wednesday’s Euroleague Quarter-Final playoff at Sibur Arena in Saint Petersburg. Zenit after tying in the first two games held in Spain host Barcelona who will attempt to hit back for their home defeat. Read along for our free prediction and betting tips.
Zenit St.Petersburg may cause a major upset
Being the only team who won on the road so far in the Euroleague playoffs, Zenit St.Petersburg take the tie to their own Sibur Arena after a precious win in Barcelona by two points. They now have the chance to seal the tie if they win both their games at home and cause one of the major upsets in the Euroleague this season.
Both matches were very close, and the Russians with their tough defense held off Barca for under 81 points in the two games. Coach Xavi Pascual’s bench didn’t help much in those two games after injuries to Ponitka and Gudaitis, but the Spanish coach proved he knows Barca too well and he will be keen to use all his knowledge again and take their home-court advantage now to account.
Barcelona in a tough challenge to win at Sibur Arena
The Blaugrana bounced back from the first match loss but needed overtime to tie the series 1-1 in the second game. One of the main reasons for these weak performances is the low percentage shooting of 43% from all distances as opposed to their season average of almost 52%. They did come back in the first game after trailing by 17 points, but Kevin Pangos of Zenit took matters into his own hands and lifted his to an opening game victory.
Barca coach Jasikevicus had coach Pangos for two seasons but still couldn’t isolate the Canadian guard. It will be a key factor for this third game to find answers for Pangos’s contribution to his team. Barca will not go down easily and will put up a fight as they did in the second game at Palau Blaugrana. They lost here at the Sibur Arena in the regular season and will be keen not to repeat that score.
Key Stats
Zenit Saint Petersburg vs Barcelona Prediction
There was very little to separate these teams in the first two matches as they both shared the win in those games. Both matches were very close and if we look at their stats they are both in good form. We think Barcelona will show more resilience in this match and if they can improve their shooting by finding more easy shots, they may get ahead in this tie. We will back Barcelona to score over 74.5 points in this match.
Zenit Saint Petersburg vs Barcelona Betting Tips
Barcelona to score over 74.5 points in the match 1.52 at bet365
Over 151.5 Total Match Points 1.90 at bet365