Zalgaris Kaunas vs FC Barcelona: A comfortable Catalan win will spell the end for the Lithuanians

FC Barcelona have won their last five and secured a playoff place last week but don’t expect them to miss a beat against Zalgaris Kaunas.

There’s only three games left of the Euroleague Top 16 and it’s desperation time for a number of teams, including Zalgaris Kaunas. 

 They need to win to keep any playoff hopes alive and even then, a win for Panathinaikos will signal the end for the Lithuanians regardless of the result in Spain. 

They’ve had a few tough losses, including the away leg of this fixture and their loss last week against Maccabi Tel Aviv but so far, Zalgaris have been out-performed simply by teams that have that extra bit of quality to them. 

 They’ll be happier that they’ve improved on last season’s 2-12 record in the Top 16 already but a big win here could be the momentum shift they need. 

On the other hand, the been-there-and-done-it styling of FC Barcelona are ever-present again as they pushed themselves into the next round with a win last week over Crvena Zvezda Telecom Belgrade.  

A win here will put them in an excellent position to host a game in the first round of the playoffs and if other results go their way, set up a showdown with Real Madrid for that coveted top spot and home-field advantage throughout the post-season. 

They are becoming pretty prolific scorers and with the added incentive that they can still finish above their bitter rivals, they’ll really go for broke in this one.  

Go for the Catalans to score over 78 points at 17/20 as Zalgaris don’t have enough to halt their momentum. 

Behind centre Ante Tomic, a dominant player that can score well in the paint and loves hitting the glass, with the Croatian sitting fourth in both defensive and offensive rebounding. 

It’s that kind of excellence that just sets Barcelona apart from Zalgaris and having beaten the Lithuanians 18 out of 19 times, it’ll be a very tall order for them to overcome the Catalan giants. 

With all that in mind, it’s hard to look past Barcelona in this one.  

They just have a stronger outfit, more experienced with grinding out results in these kinds of situations and others should watch out, Barca are on a roll. 

Back FC Barcelona to win this one with the -6.5 handicap at 9/1 and in turn end the hopes of a plucky Zalgaris team.