The Liga ACB, or Liga Endesa, is arguably the strongest basketball league in Europe and, as with La Liga, which can lay claim to the title when it comes to football, that is largely down to the pre-eminence of two teams, Real Madrid and Barcelona. The battle between these two great rivals looks set to be as intense as ever and we take a look at the new season, offering up our predictions and betting tips, as well as the best odds, for the outright winner betting in the ACB League (to use its English name!)
It may be unfair to talk of the ACB purely in terms of its two biggest sides and whilst there is little doubt that one of either Real or Barca will claim outright glory this year, there are plenty of other strong sides who will at least try to cause an upset. Indeed, in the FIBA Europe rankings, Spain have five sides inside the top 20. Real Madrid lead the way, ahead of CSKA Moscow and Olympiakos, with Barcelona in fourth, but Valencia, Laboral Kutxa and Unicaja Málaga are all right up there, which shows the amazing strength within the ACB and just how tough it will be for any side to go all the way.
Having said that Madrid’s basketball Galacticos are ranked the top side in Europe, it should come as no real surprise to see they top the outright winner betting when it comes to the Liga ACB. Priced at odds of just 3/4 with Ladbrokes, Pablo Laso nine-times Euroleague champions are looking for a 33rd Spanish title and a third in four years, having only missed out in 2013-14 recently.
Captained by the experienced Felipe Reyes, they will take a lot of stopping, their depth illustrated by the fact that Reyes himself may not even start many games, with Mexican Gustavo Ayon a real talent. Odds of 3/4 may not look like value in the outright winner betting but given Real are as short as 8/11 in places we think they are well worth considering and will certainly give you a run for your money.
In terms of the ACB odds, our live odds comparison is the quickest and easiest way to find the best odds for all your basketball bets, be that in the Liga ACB, NBA or other European leagues. Quickly finding the best odds saves you time and money so don’t miss out by accepting lower odds.
The best odds on Barcelona are 5/4 with Betfair, though they are priced at even money by some bookies who are clearly predicting great things from the Catalans this season. Barca, who have won the ACB 18 times previously, have won or finished runner-up in both the Liga ACB and the Spanish Cup in each of the last five seasons which shows their consistency. It’s incredibly tough to separate Barca and Real but whilst there is a temptation to view the underdogs at better value, given their longer odds in the outright market, ultimately we feel Real just have the edge, especially having won the final series 3-0 last year.
Of course, having said the Spanish league has great strength in depth, we have discussed alternatives to the Clasico giants in dismissive lack of detail. Unicaja Malaga are a very good side and have one or two top players – though for how long they will keep them remains to be seen. That said, the fact the bookies make them a 16/1 shot (Sky Bet) in the outright ACB winner betting says it all.
As such we have to stick to our prediction and a repeat of the last four Real v Barca finals certainly looks on the cards.