AX Armani Exchange Milan are preparing to go up against EuroLeague regular season leaders FC Barcelona in a remake of their 2021 Final Four semifinal clash.
In the first round, the Italian side broke a four-game losing streak against the Catalans who went on to win nine consecutive games after the loss at the Mediolanum Forum. Barcelona are 9-0 when playing at Palau.
However, what we're expecting to see is a game affected by absences, injuries, and the difficulties that both teams have faced during the last weeks, due to Covid reasons.
In the upcoming contest, the visitors will be without three injured players, Dinos Mitoglou, Shavon Shields and Gigi Datome, who are averaging 28.2 points per game combined.
Malcolm Delaney has not yet played after the December 16 game against Real Madrid. Trey Kell is scheduled to play a EuroLeague game for the first time, while Troy Daniels is not with the team yet.
“We are going to face one of the favorites to win the title, a team which relies on defensive aggressiveness and offensive discipline," coach Ettore Messina said.
"We are gradually recovering the players affected by Covid issues and that might help in a game where rebounding and ball movement against their defensive switches should be crucial to try to stay close to the end.”
Guard Sergio Rodriguez noted: “Barcelona are a very physical team, very intense and focused on the defensive aspect of the game, with an extraordinary offensive player like Nikola Mirotic.
Playing in Palau is always difficult, we are aware of that. We know that the situation is not ideal for both teams because of Covid issues, but from our side, we’ll play with the required effort in order to do the best we can.”
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