In its second game this week against a Turkish team, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (3-6) hosts league-leader Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (8-1) for a Round 10 game on Thursday night. Milan is currently on a five-game slide as it also dropped a Tuesday Round 9 game at home, 51-80, against defending champs Anadolu Efes Istanbul; Naz Mitrou-Long was the only Milan man to reach double digits in scoring with 10 points for the hosts. Since having lost its only game so far this season, Fenerbache has won three in a row and is on a roll. It defeated Monaco on the road, 93-96, on Tuesday behind Nigel Hayes-Davis's 21 points and 5 rebounds. This will be the 21st time these two teams meet in the EuroLeague since 2012, and Fener has dominated the series, 6-14.
Struggling Milan welcomes league-leader Fenerbahce
Milan is currently in a tough spot. A roster built to go all the way seems to be struggling. The team has lost its last five games and dropped to 15th place in the standings, so the hosts will need a reaction soon. A visit from the league leader might not be the best chance to do that, but on the other hand, a win against Fenerbahce would send Milan's morale through the roof. The hosts overpower Fener in defensive aspects like defensive rebounds (24.2) and blocks (2.1). Sending the visitors to the line might prove worthy as Fenerbahce ranks 14th in free throws.
Game Videos
Fenerbahce arrives in Milan as the leader in the standings. The team has been performing well from the get-go and, except for a hiccup in Barcelona, it has won all of its games. Fener leads the league in shooting from beyond the arc (40.8%) and is also second in points per game (87.4) and average PIR (101.0 against Milan's worst 70.1). Starting from Coach Dimitris Itoudis, probably nobody at the guests' camp expected that the visit to Milan in Round 10 would be such a double-edged sword: an easy game on paper considering the current trend of both teams, but also a Milan team turned into a time bomb ready to explode when it is the most wounded, like right now.