Real Madrid - Betis

Spain - Liga ACB, Round 34

The proud new Euroleague champions Real Madrid will play in front of their fans against Betis, in the last 34th round of the Spanish ACB league, with a lot of enthusiasm and optimism.

Real enters the last match before the start of the playoffs just three days after the dramatic final of the fight for the continental title. However, it is far from the fact that fatigue can be more significantly felt and reflected on the game of the Madrid team. The breadth of rotation of coach Chus Mateo's team is unparalleled in Europe this season – Real now has as many as 14 extremely quality and healthy players available, for 12 places in the squad for this match.

At the moment, Betis seems to be the ideal opponent for Real, who will chase a triumph in a relieved and celebratory atmosphere in order to maintain their chances of second place ahead of the playoffs. The team from the south of Spain, Betis, has had obvious problems in defense for a long time. Therefore, even survival before the last round is not guaranteed for the club from Sevilla.

The Andalusian club has won four of its last six matches, and almost without exception since the beginning of April, Betis has been playing extremely effective matches. This is a team that received as many as 84.2 points per match this season in the ACB league. Against Real Madrid, one of the most offensively potent teams in the league, it is almost certain that they will receive more.

Betis has significantly improved their attacking game since the beginning of spring, and the result is the victories that preserved the chances of survival in the Spanish elite. In each of the last three games, this team scored at least 86 points.

For Real, the primary motive is to play relaxed in this game, after a big celebration, in a fast attacking rhythm and with evenly distributed minutes of the first team. The young power forward, Frenchman Guerschon Yabusele, who was not eligible to play at the F4 Euroleague tournament due to suspension, will certainly play a big role. His freshness and indisputable quality, especially against a rival who is inferior in the fight under the hoop (and Betis realistically does not have quality options in those positions) - will be an important trump card for an efficient home match.

First of all, due to the fact that Betis still fears for survival, we should avoid variants of the forecast of the eventual point difference in the victory of the favorite. However, it is clear that the new European champion will not insist on fierce defense as usual and will try to protect key players from strong duels and contact. The epilogue could certainly be a match with a large number of points on both sides, on the eve of big battles in the ACB playoffs, of what many consider to be the strongest national championship on the continent.