Andy West previews Round 22 of the 2025-26 EuroLeague season
At a glance: A three-day round highlighted by El Clásico, a French League derby
Game Preview
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Round 22 of the EuroLeague Regular Season is headlined by the world’s most famous sporting rivalry, and also offers several key matchups between direct rivals in the race for the playoffs. Here’s your quick guide to all 10 games.
Wednesday, January 14
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade vs. Olympiacos Piraeus (19:30 CET)
The week’s action starts with one Wednesday game as rock-bottom Partizan (6-15) welcomes Olympiacos (12-8). The home team is still looking for its first win under coach Joan Penarroya and needs to find more offensive support for Duane Washington, the only double-digit scorer in Friday’s loss at Barcelona. Partizan will look for a strong home debut from Tonye Jekiri, and his presence in the paint could offer an added edge if the reports are true that new Olympiacos center Tyrique Jones will not play against his former team, meaning fans will have to wait to see him add to a fearsome frontcourt already boasting the powerful rebounding of Nikola Milutinov, Sasha Vezenkov and Donta Hall. The Reds enjoyed another stellar night from Vezenkov – 25 points on 10-of-12 field-goal shooting – to ease past Bayern last week, but lost guard Monte Morris to injury,
Thursday, January 15
Dubai Basketball vs. Virtus Bologna (17:00 CET)
Two teams currently tied just outside the playoff positions will look to strengthen their challenge with Dubai (10-11) hosting Virtus (10-11). Dubai’s excellent home form continued with an impressive win over Fenerbahce in Round 21, sparked by big man Kenan Kamenjas enjoying a breakout performance with 20 points and 15 rebounds. He should receive plenty of support in the paint from fellow bigs Filip Petrusev and Mfiondu Kabengele, while Virtus – which has a 2-9 record on the road this season – will need another strong display from Nicola Akele after he delivered a season-best 10 points and 6 rebounds. Virtus won the first meeting between the teams 79-78 after Luca Vildoza struck a pair of late triples, and this could be an equally close encounter.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. Kosner Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (18:30 CET)
A negative streak must end as Efes (6-15) takes a five-game losing run into a clash with a Baskonia team (7-14) looking for a first road success. The visitors – whio will be facing former coach Pablo Laso for the first time – maintained their strong home form by outlasting ASVEL last week, and they control the head-to-head advantage after winning 86-75 in Round 8. Efes’s latest loss came with a second-half surrender at Milan, and the Turkish team needs better offensive execution after scoring less than 80 points in the last three games. Center Kai Jones gave an example of how to fight with 4 offensive rebounds and 3 blocked shots, and he faces a good frontcourt fight with Baskonia center Eugene Omuruyi, who had 8 rebounds in last week’s win.
FC Bayern Munich vs. Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (19:30 CET)
Bayern (7-14) will look for a third straight home win to disrupt the top-four ambitions of Panathinaikos (13-8). One highlight will be the matchup between two of the league’s most explosive scorers as visiting superstar Kendrick Nunn (19.4 points per game) attempts to outshoot Andreas Obst, who has averaged 18.8 points in the last four games. The hosts will look to use the energy of Isiaha Mike (13 points and 7 rebounds in both of the last two games) to keep the Greens under pressure, but Panathinaikos can look to control the paint through in-form big man Richaun Holmes (15.0 points and 7.5 rebounds average in the last two games). The Greens have won their last six meetings with Bayern, but will have to work hard to make it seven straight.
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv vs. Zalgiris Kaunas (20:05 CET)
Maccabi (8-13) will attempt to arrest a three-game losing slide with a visit from a Zalgiris team (12-9) setting its sights on the top six. The visitors will hope to repeat the collective performance which delivered a commanding 32-point thrashing of Zvezda last week, featuring six different double-digit scorers. All of Maccabi’s recent losses came on the road, so the hosts will be happy to be back in Tel Aviv where Iffe Lundberg will take responsibility for leading his team at both ends of the floor. The hosts’ hopes would be boosted if top scorer Lonnie Walker can return from injury, while Zalgiris will look to control the backcourt through Sylvain Francisco, the league leader in assists who has dished at least 5 in 11 consecutive games.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan vs. Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (20:30 CET)
A key matchup will see Milan (11-10) attempt to climb into the top 10 at the expense of fading Zvezda (11-10). The visitors need to rebuild their confidence after suffering a 32-point mauling at Zalgiris, whereas Milan enjoyed the opposite sensations after mounting a big second-half comeback against Efes. The key to that triumph – not for the first time this season – was the three-point shooting of Armoni Brooks (31 points on 7-of-12 from deep), and he will attempt to punish a Zvezda defense which has allowed 106, 102 and 99 points in three of the last four games. The Serbian team – which must win by 11 points or more to claim head-to-head advantage – will also hope to have Jordan Nwora back in form after he only scored 5 points in Kaunas last week.
Paris Basketball vs. AS Monaco (20:45 CET)
A French League derby will see Paris (7-13) attempt to disrupt the top-four ambitions of red-hot Monaco (14-7). The visitors have won five straight and demonstrated outstanding team play to overcome Valencia last week, with five double-digit scorers led by the always-reliable Alpha Diallo. Paris grabbed a much-needed victory from its sole game last week, overcoming Efes on the road thanks to 27 points from the irrepressible Nadir Hifi, whose backcourt battle with Mike James will be a must-watch matchup. Former Monaco swingman Yakuba Ouattara will play a major part in attempting to disrupt his old team’s rhythm, and he faces a good battle against in-form Jaron Blossomgame. Monaco blitzed 125 points past Paris in December, so the hosts will have to find much better defensive solutions this week.
Friday, January 16
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul vs. Valencia Basket (18:45 CET)
Two high-fliers looking to get back on the winning track as Fenerbahce (13-7) faces Valencia (14-7). New home team signing Nando De Colo could make his debut against the club where his EuroLeague career started 15 years ago, and his arrival should lessen the backcourt burden on in-form Wade Baldwin, whose 21 points were not enough to take victory from Dubai last time out. Fenerbahce was heavily outrebounded in that game, so the reigning champ will look for more physicality – not helped by the loss of Bonzie Colson to injury – against a Valencia team which always loves to crash the glass through the likes of Jaime Pradilla and Matt Costello. The scoring threat of Kam Taylor, who netted 17 points when Valencia comfortably beat Fenerbahce in October, will be a major focus for the hosts' defense.
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne vs. Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv (20:00 CET)
League leader Hapoel (14-6) will attempt to hold onto that position by prevailing on a road trip to ASVEL (6-15). The visitors experienced contrasting injury fortunes in the backcourt during last week’s easy home win over Dubai, with Tyler Ennis’s season ended by injury but Vasilije Micic back in action to deliver 19 points. ASVEL is always competitive on its home floor but needs to be ready to face a Hapoel team versatile enough to play any kind of game, as it showed by leaning on 18 points from Dan Oturu to overcome ASVEL last month. Up against him, the hosts will look for another big performance from Bastien Vautier, who continued his recent improvement by recording 14 points and 6 rebounds in last week’s loss to Baskonia.
Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona (20:45 CET)
A classic conclusion to the week takes place in the Spanish capital as Real Madrid (13-8) faces Barcelona (14-7). Both teams took a pair of victories from last week’s double round, and Barca big man Willy Hernangomez has hit top form with averages of 13.0 points and 9.0 rebounds from those wins. That sets him up nicely for a big battle in the paint against the competition’s new all-time rebounding leader, Walter Tavares, who has posted 9.3 boards in the last four games. Real won at Barcelona in Round 9 behind 29 points from Trey Lyles, and boasts the league’s best home record (9-1). But Barca is one of the best long-range shooting teams in the competition (38.4% of three-pointers converted), so will hope the likes of Kevin Punter and Dario Brizuela can inspire a key road win.