At a glance: Three days of EuroLeague fun this week!

Andy West looks ahead to Round 3 of the 2025-26 campaign

The excitement continues with Round 3 of the EuroLeague between Wednesday and Friday, with some high-fliers aiming for a 3-0 start while strugglers target a first win. Here’s your look ahead to the action.

Wednesday, October 8

Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv vs. Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv (20:05 CEST)

This week’s drama tips off on Wednesday with a local rivalry as a perfect Hapoel (2-0) faces winless Maccabi (0-2) in Sofia, Bulgaria. Dimitris Itoudis’s team has made a stunning start to the season behind the aggressive scoring of Antonio Blakeney, who has made 21-of-23 free-throw attempts in the first two games. Dan Oturu’s power in the paint (15.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game) is another challenge for Maccabi, which has struggled for shooting accuracy with just 48.7% of two-point attempts and 32.8% of triples converted so far. Jaylen Hoard has been a welcome exception with 15 points per game, while the rebounding of summer signing Oshae Brissett (6.5 boards per night) will be important to combat Oturu.

Thursday, October 9

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul (20:30 CEST)

Partizan (1-1) is targeting a second consecutive victory as it welcomes Efes (1-1) to Belgrade. Zeljko Obradovic’s men narrowly secured their first success of the campaign by edging out Milan in Round 2, with last season’s key performers Carlik Jones (15 points and 5 assists) and Sterling Brown (20 points) finding a welcome return to form, and that duo faces a major challenge against Efes’s star-studded backcourt. Shane Larkin has averaged 13.5 points despite not yet making a single three-point shot, a statistic which will surely change soon. Isaia Cordinier has suffered similar woes with just 1 three-pointer on 10 attempts, but Jordan Loyd has settled very quickly, netting 16 and 25 points in his first two games.

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan vs. AS Monaco (20:30 CEST)

Milan (1-1) will enjoy home comforts for the first time this season with a visit from Monaco (1-1). The visitors will hope that Round 2 MVP Nikola Mirotic can continue shine as he returns to face his former team. Milan will have plenty of hunger after narrowly failing in a big comeback attempt at Partizan last week, where summer signing Marko Guduric showed his first signs of becoming a key presence for Ettore Messina’s men with 12 points and 8 assists. A key battle will take place in the paint: Daniel Theis has made an excellent start to the season with 16.0 points per game on 90.9% two-point shooting, while Milan’s Devin Booker will look to make up for the absence of Josh Nebo, who had a strong start to the season but suffered an injury in Round 2.

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz vs. Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (20:30 CEST)

Baskonia (0-2) will aim for its first victory against a Panathinaikos team (1-1) also determined to bounce back from defeat. Loose defense was the Greens’ downfall in last week’s home loss to Barcelona, when even a stunning performance from Juancho Hernangomez – 27 points and 8 rebounds – wasn’t enough. TJ Shorts will hope to kickstart his season after a slow start, but Panathinaikos can still rely on Kostas Sloukas to lead the offense after his double-double (18 points and 11 assists) in Round 2. Baskonia also needs defensive improvement after allowing 102 points in both the first two games, and will hope for another strong performance from forward Hamidou Diallo after averaging 14 points and 6.5 rebounds in his first two games for the club.

Paris Basketball vs. Virtus Bologna (20:45 CEST)

A second win of the season is up for grabs as Paris (1-1) welcomes Virtus (1-1). The French team roared to its first triumph with an offense-inspired win at Maccabi, where Nadir Hifi again underlined his enormous scoring potential by draining 21 points. Another key performer for Paris is big man Allan Dokossi, who has grabbed 10 and 13 rebounds in two first two games. On this occasion he will go up against Alen Smailagic, who has made a solid start to his time with Virtus (8.5 points per game). Virtus will try to dominate the backcourt through a deep range of options led by Carsen Edwards, who is looking to extend a 15-game double-digit scoring sequence dating back to last season.

Real Madrid vs. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (21:00 CEST)

After lifting its spirits with a vital victory over Olympiacos last time out, Real Madrid (1-1) will look to double up by overcoming ASVEL (1-1). Experienced duo Mario Hezonja and Gabriel Deck have been the key performers for Los Blancos, averaging 16.0 and 12.5 points per game, while Facu Campazzo has shown he’ll again be among the league’s top distributors by averaging 6.5 assists in the first two games. ASVEL grabbed its first win by blasting 102 points over Baskonia last week, and American big man Zac Seljaas looks like becoming a key performer by registering 16.0 points and 6.5 rebounds over his first two appearances – but now he faces his biggest challenge yet against Real giant Walter Tavares.

Friday, October 10

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul vs. Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (19:45 CEST)

Winless Zvezda (0-2) will attempt to change that statistic with a trip to Fenerbahce (1-1). The Serbian team must improve defensively after allowing 92 and 97 points in the first two games, while hoping that Jordan Nwora continues his hot streak after averaging 23.0 points and 5.5 rebounds so far. Another key for Zvezda will be the ability of Codi Miller-McIntyre (16 points and 5.0 assists per night) ability to control the tempo in the backcourt, where Fener star Wade Baldwin has made a stellar start to the season with averages of 23.0 points and 7.0 assists. The Turkish team needs more productivity from its big men after Khem Birch and Bonzie Colson netted just 2 points apiece in last week’s loss at Zalgiris.

Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Dubai Basketball (20:15 CEST)

In its first home game of the season, Olympiacos (1-1) will look to return to winning ways with a visit from Dubai (1-1). A pleasant surprise for the Reds has been a major upturn in productivity from Tyler Dorsey, netting 21 and 20 points in the first two games, but coach Georgios Bartzokas will be eager to see a collective improvement in long-range shooting with his team making just 28.3% of three-point attempts so far. Dubai leaked 103 points and 27 assists in last week’s loss at Monaco so needs to toughen up defensively, and center Filip Petrusev (14 points and 8 rebounds per night) will be particularly motivated to enjoy a big night as he faces his former club.

FC Bayern Munich vs. Zalgiris Kaunas (20:30 CEST)

Bayern (1-1) is on the hunt for a second straight victory as it faces a visit from high-flying Zalgiris (2-0). The visiting defense will attempt to minimize the threat posed by Andreas Obst, who blasted 9 three-pointers as Bayern defeated Zvezda in Round 2, but Zalgiris is well-placed to subdue his talents after boasting the league’s best perimeter defense with just 26.8% of three-point attempts converted by its opponents. The Lithuanian team’s stunning start has also been propelled by offensive efficiency: Tomas Masiulis’s men have committed just 10 turnovers per night (2nd best in the league) and shown great long-range accuracy including former Bayern guard Sylvain Francisco (13.5 points per game on 55.6% three-point shooting).

FC Barcelona vs. Valencia Basket (20:30 CEST)

The week concludes with a Spanish east coast derby as Barcelona (1-1) welcomes Valencia (2-0). The Taronjas celebrated the opening of the new Roig Arena by delivering an offensive masterclass to down Virtus last week, with Omari Moore continuing his special start to the season (13.5 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists per game) and teen talent Sergio De Larrea underlining his enormous potential by blazing 23 points on 5-of-7 three-point shooting. He will look to exploit the absence of injured Barcelona guard Nico Laprovittola, but the home team will be confident after also scoring 103 points in Round 2’s impressive victory at Panathinaikos, where summer signings Toko Shengelia and Will Clyburn demonstrated their importance to their new team by combining for 40 points and 11 rebounds.