Olimpia Milan and Virtus Bologna, two teams in great form, face each other this Thursday in the Euroleague. A summit meeting between the stars of Italian and European basketball. All the predictions and the keys to this shock…
This Thursday, October 31, 2024, Olimpia Milan welcomes Virtus Bologna in a shock at the top of the Euroleague regular season. A highly anticipated meeting between two teams in great form who play the leading roles in the championship and the European Cup this season. Analysis, statistics, predictions… Here is everything you need to know before this major European basketball event!
Olimpia Milan vs Virtus Bologna: The Poster for the 7th Euroleague Day
This clash between Olimpia Milan, currently 3rd in the ranking, and its runner-up Virtus Bologna, 4th, will undoubtedly be the star poster of this 7th day of the Euroleague. The Milanese, carried by a Sergio Rodriguez on fire since the start of the season, remain on 4 consecutive victories in the Euroleague. For its part, Milos Teodosic's Virtus Bologna is also having a very good start to the European season with 5 wins in 6 matches.
Milan and Bologna offer us a real showdown at the start of the season. There is no doubt that this direct confrontation will be decisive for the future.
Ettore Messina, coach of Olimpia Milan
Squads cut out for the Euroleague
This season, Olimpia Milan and Virtus Bologna have two of the best squads on the continent. On the Milan side, the Spanish star Sergio Rodriguez leads the way with 16.5 points and 6.2 assists on average. He is supported by Lithuanian interior Arturas Gudaitis and American guard Kevin Punter, both at more than 13 points per game.
In the ranks of Bologna, it is the maestro serbe milos teodosic who pulls the strings of the game. At 35 years old, the former Clippers player still compiles 14.8 points and 5.6 assists per game. The revelation of this start of the season is the young Italian leader Nico Mannion, in dual license with Virtus and the Warriors in the NBA. The 22-year-old prodigy averages 12.4 points with 50% shooting success, including 45% from 3-point range!
The two teams will also be able to count on dominant interiors like Kyle Hines and Nicolo Melli for Milan or Ekpe Udoh and Isaïa Cordinier for Bologna.
The keys to the match
To win tonight, Milan will first have to muzzle the Virtus' fast and fluid play. Rodriguez and Punter will have a hard time facing the Teodosic-Mannion duo. It will also be necessary to contain Udoh's interior attacks and control the rebound. A real challenge for Hines and Melli.
For its part, Bologna will try to impose its frenetic pace to get ahead of the Milan defense. The battle of the back lines will be decisive. If Teodosic and Mannion manage to distill their champagne basketball, the Virtus will have taken a big step towards victory. Cordinier's athletic presence on the wings will be an undeniable plus.
Team statistics and dynamics
Before this meeting, Olimpia Milan and Virtus Bologna present fairly similar collective statistics:
- Milan scores 84.2 points per game compared to 86.5 for Bologna
- The Milanese capture 35.4 rebounds (12.2 offensive) compared to 36.8 (11.4 off.) for the Virtus
- Milan delivers 18.8 assists per game compared to 21.4 for Bologna
In terms of dynamics, the two teams arrive with 4 and 3 consecutive victories in all competitions respectively. A match that smells like gunpowder!
Prediction: a close match in perspective
Difficult to identify a favorite as this clash promises to be tight and indecisive. The Olimpia, carried by its fiery audience at the Mediolanum Forum, will leave with a slight advantage. But beware of the surprise effect of the pyrotechnicians Teodosic and Mannion on the Virtus side.
Right now I'd say 55/45 in favor of Milan. But with players like Milos Teodosic opposite, everything remains possible until the end.
Milos Vujanic, former leader of Virtus Bologna
One thing is certain, basketball and suspense will be there this evening in Milan for what is already shaping up to be one of the Euroleague matches of the year. Kick-off at 8:30 p.m., be on time!