The 2026/27 EuroLeague will get underway once again this week, with the best club sides in basketball set to play at least 38 games as they aim to be crowned EuroLeague champions.

With the best club rosters in Europe on show, it is worth remembering how many of the tallest players in basketball ply their trade on these courts too.

If you are new to betting on the EuroLeague, the format features a round-robin table where each team plays each other home and away, before the top 10 have the chance to play in the playoffs.

The top six receive an automatic spot, while those placed 7th to 10th will play in the Play-In Showdown.

Let’s take a look at the first round of matches…

Quick Picks

Our pick: Olympiacos to win

Value bet: Valencia Basket to win

Long shot: Bayern Munich to win

Betting Preview

The 10 games to be played in Week 1 are as follows (all times AEST):

• Dubai vs Real Madrid (Friday, September 25, 02:00)
• Hapoel Tel Aviv vs Bayern Munich (Friday, September 25, 02:00)
• Crvena zvezda vs Zalgiris (Friday, September 25, 04:00)
• Panathinaikos vs Paris (Friday, September 25, 04:15)
• Baskonia vs Olympiacos (Friday, September 25, 04:30)
• Barcelona vs Anadolu Efes (Friday, September 25, 04:30)
• Lyon-Villeurbanne vs Maccabi Tel Aviv (Friday, September 25, 04:45)
• Besiktas vs Valencia Basket (Saturday, September 26, 03:00)
• Fenerbahce vs Virtus Bologna (Saturday, September 26, 03:45)
• Partizan vs Milano (Saturday, September 26, 04:45)

Betting Markets to Watch

Olympiacos are the defending champions, having taken their league form (26-12) into the playoffs and beating Monaco (3-0) in the best-of-five series before defeating Fenerbahce and then Real Madrid to claim the title.

It was their fourth title, stopping the Spanish club from adding to their 11. The Greek side are big favourites to start with a win against Baskonia, who finished a lowly 18th last season (13-25).

The basketball betting odds on an Olympiacos win are consequently short, so there’s better value in the over total points, as there were 198 in this fixture last year in Round 1.

Turkish club Besiktas are the newest edition to the EuroLeague this year, having replaced Cosea JL Bourg, who couldn’t participate due to financial issues despite winning the EuroCup. Monaco have dropped out this year.

They will start against Valencia Basket, who finished second last season, winning 25 of their games. Perhaps surprisingly, the Spanish side has value as perceived underdogs. Panathinakos and Real Madrid are always worth keeping an eye on in the EuroLeague.

Both sides will be hurting after disappointing ends to positive campaigns last season. The Greeks are huge favourites to win against Paris, but Real Madrid are slight underdogs against Dubai, which is where we feel there is value.

Dubai were consistent last season but finished 19-19 with a -1 point differential across their 38 games (11th). Madrid, meanwhile, finished runners-up after a 3rd-placed finish in which they won 24 Besiktas JK matches.

Our Prediction

You can check out our latest EuroLeague betting odds here.

Our top prediction for EuroLeague Round 1 is for an Olympiacos win. They are arguably the team to beat once again this season, and will likely remain extremely strong on the court.

A value bet is on Valencia Basket to beat Besiktas, as the Spanish side are experienced in this tournament. The Turkish side, meanwhile, are playing in it for just the second time.

Our long shot is Bayern Munich to beat Hapoel Tel Aviv. The Germans won 79-64 in Israel in round 25 last year, and we think they have a good chance of repeating that result in this year’s opener.