Andy West previews the first half of the opening double-round week of 2026
At a glance: Old faces in new places as Round 20 gets underway
Game Preview
8 Min čitanja
The second half of the regular season gets underway with the first double round week of 2026 on Tuesday and Wednesday. Here’s a summary of everything you can enjoy in Round 20.
Tuesday, January 6
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul vs. Olympiacos Piraeus (18:45 CET)
A big battle between top-tier title candidates will see Olympiacos (11-7) visit reigning champ Fenerbahce (12-6). Last week’s Greek derby victory – inevitably powered by Sasha Vezenkov (24 points, 9 rebounds) – showed that the Reds will have no fear, but Fener is also in a sweet moment after winning tree straight and turning on the offensive style to triumph at Baskonia last week. Wade Baldwin was the architect of that victory with 24 points, but Olympiacos will also have to deal with the Turkish team’s outside shooting power after Bonzie Colson and Nicolo Melli both made 4 triples in Vitoria. The visitors will also look to control the paint through league leading rebounder Nikola Milutinov, whose ability to grab offensive boards – in tandem with livewire Donta Hall – could be crucial. Both teams made big signings over the last few days with Fenerbahce bringing back Nando De Colo and also landing Chris Silva, while Olympiacos bolstered its options at center with the addition of Tyrique Jones. At the time of publishing, all three players are yet to be registered, however.
AS Monaco vs. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (19:30 CET)
Monaco (12-7) will attempt to keep climbing the standings by showing no mercy to struggling Partizan (6-13). The Roca Team – which has won three straight – will look to repeat the stellar collective display delivered in last week’s impressive win at Barcelona. Kevarrius Hayes played a big part in that victory with 15 points and 4 offensive rebounds, and he’ll try to have the same impact against a Partizan frontcourt now without the departed Tyrique Jones. In the backcourt, former Monaco playmaker Nick Calathes will attempt to limit the influence of old teammate Mike James, while Partizan will be without the ill Duane Washington, whose 22-point performance helped give his team a narrow home win over Monaco in Round 10. The Serbian team has lost four straight and needs a big improvement to hand new coach Joan Penarroya a first win.
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne vs. Real Madrid (20:00 CET)
Improving ASVEL (6-13) hopes to maintain its recent home form by dishing more punishment to road strugglers Real Madrid (11-8). The French team has won three in a row on its own floor, but will now have to rely heavily for backcourt leadership on Thomas Heurtel following the departure of Nando De Colo to Fenerbahce. That also places even more scoring responsibility on Glynn Watson, who averaged 20 points in his team’s recent home successes. Real showed it is also capable of offensive fireworks by blasting 107 points past Dubai last week, powered by 17 points and 6 helpers from Facu Campazzo, who will hope to exploit De Colo's absence. The Spanish team is 3-7 on the road – the worst record in the top 10 – so can’t take anything for granted.
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade vs. Valencia Basket (20:00 CET)
Two of this season’s dark horses are gunning for another victory as Zvezda (11-8) welcomes co-leader Valencia (13-6). The Serbian team has struggled for consistency in recent weeks but boosted its confidence with an authoritative win at Efes last time out, helped by key shooter Jordan Nwora returning to his best with 24 points. His long-range scoring threat will be met by a Valencia team which has netted more triples than any other (12.5 per game), most recently helped by Brancou Badio continuing his strong form with 4 triples to overcome Partizan last week. The game features a showdown between two of the league’s most effective do-it-all guards as Darius Thompson faces Codi Miller-McIntyre, whose 23 points were not enough to stop Valencia from edging a tight encounter over Zvezda in Round 12.
Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv vs. Dubai Basketball (20:05 CET)
Co-leader Hapoel (13-5) will attempt to maintain that status by overcoming dangerous Dubai (9-10) in Tel Aviv. Dimitris Itoudis’s men have suffered a blip by losing two of their last three games, and will look to show more intensity after being outmuscled by Zalgiris last week. Dubai is also aiming to bounce back from defeat after suffering a bad second half in Madrid, and will look for more scoring heroics from Dwayne Bacon after netting 25 and 26 points in the last two games. Hapoel playmaker Chris Jones has found his best form of the season with double-digit scoring in five straight games, while the visitors need no reminder of the threat posed by Elijah Bryant after he netted 25 points to give Hapoel a high-scoring win in Dubai in Round 9.
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens vs. EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (20:15 CET)
Panathinaikos (12-7) will look to bounce straight back from the disappointment of last week’s Greek derby defeat by downing struggling Milan (9-10). Greens boss Ergin Ataman was directly critical of Juancho Hernangomez for failing to score in the loss against Olympiacos, so he will be particularly keen to make amends. Milan is also looking for a reaction after suffering three straight losses, and needs to fix a defense which allowed 97 and 99 points in the last two games. At the other end, Armoni Brooks has happy memories of facing Panathinaikos after netting 8 triples to inspire a victory over the Greens less than a month ago, while in-form Josh Nebo (11-of-12 two-point shooting in the last two games) will go to battle inside the paint with Kenneth Faried.
Virtus Bologna vs. Zalgiris Kaunas (20:30 CET)
Virtus (9-10) will attempt to strengthen its challenge for the top 10 by overcoming determined direct rival Zalgiris (11-8). The Italian team notched its seventh home win of the campaign by taking last week’s Italian derby over Milan, powered by dangerous Matt Morgan (13.4 points per game) netting a season-high 5 triples. But Zalgiris proved it is one of the league’s better road teams by triumphing at Hapoel last time out, partly thanks to the physicality of Azuolas Tubelis (12 points, 8 rebounds). Zalgiris claimed a comfortable home win over Virtus in Round 7, and the Italian team will ask veteran defensive ace Daniel Hackett to help slow down playmaker Sylvain Francisco after his double-double (23 points, 10 assists) in that game.
FC Barcelona vs. Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv (20:30 CET)
Two teams determined to bounce back from big losses go head-to-head as Barcelona (12-7) welcomes Maccabi (8-11). The Spanish team suffered the first serious setback of the Xavi Pascual era with defeat against Monaco last week, despite in-form Dario Brizuela giving another demonstration of his scoring power with 25 points. Maccabi's battering at Bayern came at a heavy cost with star scorer Lonnie Walker ruled out by injury, and the visitors need Jimmy Clark to step up in his absence after scoring in double figures just once in the last six games. Barca has won seven straight against Maccabi including a 71-92 road triumph in October powered by control of the backboards (40 rebounds to 33), so the visitors need to show more physicality this time.
Wednesday, January 7
Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. Paris Basketball (18:30 CET)
Two lowly teams in need of a morale-boosting victory meet in Istanbul as Efes (6-13) welcomes Paris (6-13). Efes has lost three straight with new coach Pablo Laso watching his players make just 4 three-pointers in last week’s home loss to Zvezda, and improving that statistic will be crucial against a Paris team which ranks second in the league in long-range conversions (12.2 per game). Nadir Hifi leads the assault with a league-high 20 points per game, but the visitors are continually hindered by defensive problems after allowing more points than any other team (92.8 per night). That weakness was exploited when Efes took an 80-90 Round 7 road victory in Paris, and Ercan Osmani would love to repeat the 18 points he netted in that game as he seeks a return to form.
FC Bayern Munich vs. Kosner Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (20:30 CET)
Rejuvenated Bayern (6-13) will look for more momentum by denying direct rival Baskonia (6-13) a first road win. The German team – now without Spencer Dinwiddie, whose departure was confirmed on Sunday – discovered its defensive identity under new coach Svetislav Pesic to smother Maccabi last week, led by long-serving Vladimir Lucic (17 points, 7 rebounds). Wednesday’s defensive attentions will focus on Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, whose insane consistency continued with 20 points in last week’s loss to Fenerbahce – TLC has netted between 18 and 21 points in 12 games this season. In the paint, Bayern’s David McCormack will look to continue his dramatic improvement under coach Pesic by subduing the threat of visiting center Eugene Omoruyi. Baskonia enjoyed its biggest win of the season (22 points) when the teams met in November, so revenge will be in the Munich air.