EuroLeague Round 5 Preview: Maccabi Faces Barcelona and Obradović Returns

The fifth round of the EuroLeague tips off on Tuesday with seven games, highlighted by Maccabi Tel Aviv facing Barcelona. Key storylines include Željko Obradović returning to Belgrade as Panathinaikos head coach, Jean Montero facing his former club Valencia, and Fenerbahçe attempting to recover from a heavy defeat in Athens.

Fenerbahçe vs. Žalgiris Kaunas (20:45)

Fenerbahçe (1:3) will try to bounce back from a 92:74 loss to Panathinaikos, after which Šarūnas Jasikevičius criticized his players' lack of aggressiveness. Žalgiris (2:2) arrives following an away win over Barcelona, where Jonas Valančiūnas contributed 12 points and nine rebounds. The Lithuanian side will miss Nigel Williams-Goss, while Azuolas Tubelis is expected to be fit. For the Turkish team, Onuralp Bitim missed the previous round, and Shane Larkin has yet to play this EuroLeague season despite two domestic league appearances.

ASVEL vs. Red Star Belgrade (21:00)

Both teams enter with a 2:2 record. Tony Parker's ASVEL defeated Paris in the previous round and leads the EuroLeague in assists with 22.3 per game. Red Star, meanwhile, has won its last two matches and ranks second in the competition for fewest points allowed, giving up 73.5 per game. In the previous round, they held Dubai to just 58 points.

Partizan Belgrade vs. Panathinaikos (21:30)

Željko Obradović returns to Belgrade as coach of Panathinaikos, which tops the standings with a perfect 4:0 record but has yet to play away from home this season. Partizan (1:3) comes in after a loss to Real Madrid, and former standout Mathias Lessort will also face his old team. The hosts will be without Derek Willis, expected to miss the rest of October, alongside Lamar Stevens and Vanja Marinković who have missed recent games. For the Greek side, Juancho Hernangómez, Kendrick Nunn, and Kostas Sloukas missed the last three rounds, and no fitness update has been provided yet.

Olimpia Milano vs. Real Madrid (21:30)

Both teams hold a 3:1 record, with Milan at the bottom of the standings and Real Madrid in 14th place. The Spanish side has lost all three of its away games this season, whereas the Italians won their only home match. Guerschon Yabusele and Usman Garuba will be sidelined for Los Blancos due to injuries.

Baskonia vs. Dubai (21:30)

Baskonia (3:1) ranks 19th following a home loss to Beşiktaş, while Dubai (2:2) arrives after being restricted to just 58 points against Red Star. The Spanish team has lost two of its three home games, and the visitors have yet to win on the road. Markus Howard was left out of Baskonia's squad in the previous round, and Davis Bertāns was absent for Dubai. Džanan Musa and Justin Anderson have yet to play this season.

Valencia vs. Olympiacos (22:00)

A matchup between two of the top three teams in the standings: Valencia is undefeated (4:0) and leads the EuroLeague in scoring with an average of 101.25 points per game, while Olympiacos is third (1:3). The spotlight will be on Jean Montero, who left Valencia for Olympiacos in the summer and will now face his former team for the first time. He was replaced in the Spanish side by TJ Shorts, who is averaging 17.5 points and 6.3 assists per game.