Can Zalgiris continue their impressive wins?
Zalgiris Kaunas will host Olympiacos Piraeus today in the Zalgirio Arena, a game that counts for Round 19 of the EuroLeague. It was initially scheduled to be played in January, but due to the Covid situation, the league had to re-schedule the match.
Both teams are ‘’on fire’’ lately, but for Zalgiris this winning streak came a little too late, as the Lithuanians don’t have any chances of advancing to the playoffs after a disastrous start of the season (the worst in the club’s history). Still, it’s remarkable that Zalgiris managed to beat both Spanish giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona in the last month, while also winning in Monaco and in Athens against Panathinaikos. The only misstep in the last month for Jure Zdovc’s team was against German champions Alba Berlin.
Interestingly, just like in the case of Zalgiris, Alba Berlin is the only team that beat Olympiacos in the last month. The Greeks defeated some EuroLeague powerhouse teams at home like Armani Milan or Anadolu Efes and recorded important wins away against Bayern and Baskonia, but capitulated against the outsiders Alba. Besides the success in their EuroLeague games, both Zalgiris and Olympiacos won their domestic cup tournaments in the month of February.
The win tonight is more important for Olympiacos, as with five games to play until the end of the regular season, they are in the race for at least the 3rd place. However, Zalgiris will play at home, in front of their fanatic fans and they just come after an enthusiastic performance in the Zalgirio Arena against Barcelona. Also, the Lithuanians played at home in their domestic league too, so they are not tired from travelling. The fact that they don’t have anything to lose can be an advantage too, so it will be a difficult night for Olympiacos.
