Real Madrid – Zalgiris

International - Euroleague Round 3

Madrid, October 17, 20:45 CET

European champions Real Madrid are aiming for their 11th straight win at home against Euroleague rivals from Lithuania Zalgiris.
Tuesday's match in Madrid will provide, above all, a chance for the hosts to score a large number of points again. In those 11 victories that Real achieved since September 16, even ten times more than 165 points were scored. When it comes to the most trophy-winning Spanish club, the impression is that they seem more dominant in attack in each new match. The last example is a routine game on Sunday, also in Madrid against Murcia in the Spanish ACB League (106:92).
Zalgiris, on the other hand, is also in a good rhythm - they have only one defeat in their last 11 games. What is characteristic of the Lithuanian giant is that they easily accept the rhythm and tempo of the game that suits their rivals. Thus, in the victory over Virtus in Bologna at the beginning of the Euroleague season (October 5) - a large number of points was also seen, 82:79. In a bad shooting performance last week in the victory over Crvena Zvezda in Euroleague Round 2, Zalgiris team again managed to score a decent number of points (79:74) and "break" a defensively oriented opponent in 4th quarter.
Last season, at the end of February this year, Real Madrid won against this opponent 96:69. In September 2022, in a friendly game, the Euroleague team with the most trophies won 89:81, and in November 2021, in Madrid, it was 95:82 in favor of the home team. It is easy to expect that this time we will see at least 165 points in the game.
It is great news for Real Madrid that all players are recovered for the match and the program of this week in which they will play two Euroleague rounds. After a few weeks, the famous center Walter Tavares played for the first time – in the victory over Murcia on Sunday, he dominated with 18 points and eight rebounds. Playmaker Campazzo, experienced guards Llull and Rodriguzez, guard-forward Musa, forwards Hezonja and Deck are in perfect attacking form... Simply, at any moment of the match - Real Madrid has five players on the field who can dominate against any rival in Euroleague.
The strength of Zalgiris is first and foremost a team game, and thanks to an extremely fluid and fast attack system, the guests can count on a large number of good three point shots. In the victory over Crvena Zvezda, in addition to the excellent forward Ulanovas (15 points, six rebounds, four assists) - important roles were played by Butkevicius, as well as the Americans Manek, Evans and Hayes...
Zalgiris certainly has players who can make a good attacking performance. However, their defense will hardly be able to stop the fantastic roster of the home team, which is especially inspired in Madrid. Instead of a convincing victory for Real Madrid, it is easier and with better odds to predict a duel with a large number of points.