Do the Albatrosses roll over Würzburg?
Internationally, Alba Berlin can breathe a little easier and benefit from a “bye week” in the EuroLeague after the numerous match cancellations. Instead, the 14th matchday in the BBL is on the agenda for the end of the year on New Year’s Eve. The Albatrosse will meet the guests from Würzburg in the Mercedes-Benz Arena and thus close the calendar year 2021.
As expected, Alba Berlin are clear favourites against their league rivals who are in poor form. Meanwhile, the best bookmakers are only offering odds of 1.07 on Alba Berlin vs Würzburg for tip 1. The last time the two clubs met in the second half of the 2020/21 season was almost eight months ago, when Alba won by a margin of 20 points.
It is quite possible that the next demonstration of power will follow on Friday afternoon. Just last Monday, after all, Alba Berlin rolled over Medi Bayreuth and celebrated a 109:79 victory.
If you take a look at Würzburg’s away record, meanwhile, there are hardly any arguments to back up a prediction on the visitors in Alba Berlin vs. Würzburg anyway. Würzburg have lost five out of five away games in the Bundesliga. On average, they conceded 90.40 points per defeat away from home.
Alba Berlin – Statistics & current form
Last season, the Albatrosses won the tenth championship in the club’s history in a hard-fought final against the FC Bayern Munich basketball team. For the first time in almost 18 years, the capital club also managed to defend its title in the German top flight. As expected, the Albatrosses are also among the narrow circle of title favourites this season.
Twelve matchdays into the 2021/22 BBL season, Alba Berlin are in fifth place. Head coach Israel González’s team has already lost four times in the regular BBL season. Two of the three defeats were against direct rivals such as Ludwigsburg and FCB.
The latter prevailed just three weeks ago in the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin. For the Berliners, it was already the third home defeat in the current BBL season. González’s team had previously won against Syntainics MBC and Niners Chemnitz in their own arena – in each case with a lead of more than 20 points, mind you.
Is Alba flexing its muscles on the offensive end?
Good possibility that the next home win in the BBL will follow on Friday afternoon. The defending champions from Berlin recently celebrated three wins in a row across all competitions, scoring an average of 94.66 points. The power performance in Bayreuth was particularly praiseworthy, with the Albatrosses even breaking the 100-point mark.
One of the success factors was undoubtedly Oscar da Silva, who was only signed last summer as a reinforcement for the frontcourt. The 23-year-old youngster not only scored 15 points against Medi Bayreuth, but also had nine rebounds and two assists in the match.
However, the Berliners’ New Year’s Eve record is also encouraging ahead of the clash with Würzburg. There have been four New Year’s Eve matches for the Albatrosses in the last eight years – Alba Berlin won all four games. The last time was two years ago, when Alba Berlin won 116:109 at home against the Syntainics MBC.
Starting-Five of Alba Berlin:
Allen – Doreth – Sajus – Wohlrath – Thornton
Würzburg – Statistics & current form
Würzburg, meanwhile, are on course for the second division. After five defeats in a row, s.Oliver Würzburg squandered their lead on the relegation places and are now level on points with 17th-placed Giessen. It is quite possible that the downward slide will continue on New Year’s Eve. After all, Würzburg are guests of their fearful opponents from the German capital.
The club has not won any of its last ten competitive matches against Berlin since February 2016. Especially in the last five competitive games, Würzburg went down against the Albatrosse. On average, more than 100 points per game were conceded in the last five defeats against Alba.
Under Sasa Filipovski, who took over the team after the dismissal of Dennis Wucherer almost a fortnight ago, the miserable record against the Berliners is to be improved. At the premiere of the new Slovenian coach, the Würzburg team suffered a defeat against the surprise team from Göttingen.
Will Filipovski turn the trend around?
While Würzburg got off to a promising start at home against the Lower Saxons, the visitors from Göttingen proved to be more effective and were the stronger team, especially in the decisive moments. It is now important to build on these good approaches in the difficult away game in Berlin.
Nevertheless, it is more than risky to make a prediction on the guests in Alba Berlin vs. So far, Würzburg have lost all their away games in the BBL, conceding an average of more than 90 points per game. Meanwhile, s.Oliver Würzburg has lost ten away games in a row across the season and the competition.
As in the home game against Göttingen, Sasa Filipovski will still have to do without team captain Felix Hoffmann on Friday, who is still on break after his tonsillitis. There are no other serious absences for the guests.
Starting-Five of Würzburg:
Bufont – Hunt – Moller – Parodi – Rodriguez
Alba Berlin – Würzburg Direct comparison / H2H-balance
This is the 32nd time the two clubs have met. Alba Berlin leads the direct comparison so far with 27-7. Most recently, the Albatrosse from Berlin had ten wins in a row against s.Oliver Würzburg. The last defeat was in February 2016. At that time, Würzburg won the duel with 90:83 in Berlin.
Since then, Alba has won five home games in a row, in which the capital’s basketball team only missed the 90-point mark once. Alba last hosted the guests from Würzburg in January 2021, when the Berliners beat their league rivals 99:85.
Alba Berlin – Würzburg Tip
Alba Berlin are brimming with confidence after their recent power display against Medi Bayreuth. After all, the offensive side in particular made a strong impression in the away win in Bayreuth. The team around head coach Israel González scored a total of 109 points. In return, there were “only” 79 points against the Bayreuth offence.
On New Year’s Eve, the next offensive spectacle may be in store. Alba Berlin will meet the guests from Würzburg in the Mercedes-Benz Arena. The Albatrosses have celebrated ten wins in a row against Friday’s opponents. In s.Oliver Würzburg’s current form, it is obvious that the winning streak will be extended this time as well.
Würzburg is in free fall and made a coaching change just a few weeks ago. With the short acclimatisation period under Sasa Filipovic, a turnaround this week seems rather unrealistic. Therefore, we are leaning towards a clear victory for the capital’s basketball team.
For Alba Berlin vs. Würzburg, our betting odds of 1.90 are on Alba to win by at least 16 points. We are betting six out of ten possible units for this.
