Matchday 37 of the 2025-26 EuroLeague regular season, the penultimate round, presents a decisive moment in the race toward the playoffs. Several direct matchups between rivals could clarify the battle for the top 4, home-court advantage, and the final spots granting access to the play-in tournament. With only two matchdays remaining, every victory carries enormous value for the teams involved.
Thursday, April 9
Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv vs Olympiacos Piraeus (18:30 CEST)
Olympiacos (24-12) has the opportunity to mathematically secure a spot in the top four if they defeat Hapoel (22-13), who also aspire to that objective. The Israeli squad arrives with high morale after decisively defeating Fenerbahce on Tuesday, a game in which Elijah Bryant once again showcased his MVP candidacy with 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. His offensive versatility will force Olympiacos to defend collectively to try to limit his impact. For the Greek squad, the energy of players like Shaq McKissic and Kostas Papanikolaou will be key to matching the pace set by the home team. A high-level battle is also anticipated in the paint: Dan Oturu is going through a great stretch after scoring 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting from two-point range in his last game, but Olympiacos has the physical power and experience of Nikola Milutinov and Sasha Vezenkov to impose their presence near the basket.
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul vs Real Madrid (19:45 CEST)
Fenerbahce (23-13) hosts Real Madrid (22-14) in one of the most attractive games of the matchday, with direct implications for home-court advantage in the playoffs. The Turkish team has suffered several poor starts to games during a rough stretch that has seen them lose six of their last seven contests, which has increased offensive dependence on Wade Baldwin. The point guard once again led the attack with 22 points in Tuesday's loss to Hapoel, scoring double what any teammate managed. Real Madrid also arrives in less than ideal form after a decisive loss on Olympiacos' court and a string of three consecutive road defeats. However, the Spanish squad dominates the head-to-head record following their dominant 84-56 victory in Madrid last October. On offense, the Spanish team relies on the outside accuracy of Trey Lyles, who shot 6-of-8 from three-point range in Piraeus. In the paint, Nicola Melli, now fully recovered physically, will attempt to open the defense with his outside shot to counteract Walter Tavares' interior dominance.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan vs FC Bayern Munich (20:30 CEST)
Milan (17-19), already without playoff options, will seek to regain form against Bayern (16-20), who arrive in good shape despite their elimination. The Italian squad once again showed one of its major problems this season in the loss to Valencia: another fourth-quarter collapse that ultimately buried their aspirations of finishing in the top ten. Additionally, the defense has shown too many cracks during a stretch of four losses in five games. Bayern, by contrast, has reacted with three consecutive wins, the latest on Virtus' court. One of the standout names in that streak is center David McCormack, who is averaging 15.3 points and 7 rebounds over the last three games. Another interesting duel will come from the perimeter, with two of the competition's best shooters facing off: Andreas Obst and Armoni Brooks, who average 2.9 and 2.7 three-pointers per game respectively.
Valencia Basket vs Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (20:45 CEST)
Panathinaikos (21-15) continues to pressure in the battle for the top 4 and needs a win against Valencia (23-13), who could actually secure that objective with a victory. The Greek squad will try to repeat the brilliant start that allowed them to overwhelm Barcelona just two days ago, relying especially on the outside accuracy of Cedi Osman and Juancho Hernangómez to counter the perimeter threat of the Valencia squad. Valencia arrives strengthened after their win over Milan, a game that once again highlighted the all-around talent of Jean Montero. The Dominican was key to the victory and will feature in an interesting perimeter duel with experienced Kostas Sloukas, who could set the pace of the game. The Spanish team approaches the game with confidence after already winning in Athens 79-89 in the first matchup. In that encounter, Darius Thompson delivered a complete performance with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Paris Basketball vs Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv (21:00 CEST)
Maccabi (18-17) faces a practically must-win game in their visit to Paris (14-22) if they want to stay in contention for the play-in. The loss suffered on Tuesday against Baskonia left the Israeli squad with no margin for error in the final stretch of the season. One aspect that must improve is defense, as the team is allowing 92 points per game, the second-worst mark in the competition. This can be especially dangerous against a Paris team that plays at a high pace and features one of the EuroLeague's most explosive scorers, Nadir Hifi, who averages 19.2 points per game. Point guard Justin Robinson will also try to recover his best form after missing all seven of his three-point attempts in Matchday 36's loss to Zvezda. On Maccabi's side, Lonnie Walker is going through a great offensive stretch after scoring 25 and 23 points in his last two games, while Roman Sorkin continues to provide consistency with 13.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Friday, April 10
AS Monaco vs FC Barcelona (19:30 CEST)
Monaco (20-16) and Barcelona (20-16) will feature one of the most tense duels of the matchday in the battle to stay within the top 10. The blaugrana squad needs to react after the tough home loss to Panathinaikos and hopes to get Tomas Satoransky back to run the offense. Monaco, meanwhile, arrives after defeating ASVEL with a very short rotation of just eight players, driven by an Elie Okobo who was close to a triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. The matchup between two power forwards with enormous experience like Nikola Mirotic and Toko Shengelia promises to be one of the game's focal points. Additionally, the scoring duel between Mike James and Kevin Punter could prove decisive in a contest expected to be of maximum intensity, as a loss could leave the loser outside the top 10.
Dubai Basketball vs Anadolu Efes Istanbul (20:00 CEST)
Dubai (19-17) will attempt to maintain their momentum toward the postseason when they host Anadolu Efes (11-25) in Sarajevo. The home team arrives with sky-high confidence after staging a spectacular comeback in the previous matchday, scoring 38 points in the fourth quarter to defeat Zalgiris. Aleksa Avramovic was one of the protagonists of that final stretch with 12 consecutive points and will once again assume responsibilities in running the offense. Equally important will be repeating the defensive level that allowed them to hold Zalgiris to just 65 points. Efes, though already without playoff options, features dangerous shooters like Jordan Loyd and Shane Larkin, capable of capitalizing on any defensive lapse. Loyd led the win over Partizan with 24 points, while Larkin recently returned to competition after a lengthy injury absence.
Virtus Bologna vs Baskonia (20:30 CEST)
Two teams already eliminated from the playoff race will face off in Italy, though they arrive with very different dynamics. Baskonia (12-24) is going through its best offensive stretch of the season, with three consecutive wins in which they've surpassed 100 points. Point guard Trent Forrest has been the star of that streak with performances of 31, 22, and 19 points in his last three games. Virtus (13-23), meanwhile, is in a complicated situation after stringing together seven consecutive losses. New head coach Nenad Jakovljevic is still seeking his first win at the helm. One of the few reasons for optimism in the Italian squad has been the outside accuracy of Matt Morgan, who shot 6-of-8 from three-point range in the loss to Bayern. Baskonia won 87-76 in the first matchup, so a road victory would allow Paolo Galbiati's team to improve their position in the standings.
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade vs Zalgiris Kaunas (20:30 CEST)
Zalgiris (21-15) will try to reactivate their playoff candidacy with a difficult visit to Partizan's court (15-20). The Lithuanian squad needs to recover quickly from the poor finish they suffered in the loss to Dubai, especially after a very negative fourth quarter. Sylvain Francisco, one of the team's primary offensive generators, will be especially motivated after a game in which he scored just 5 points and committed 6 turnovers. Partizan also arrives after a Matchday 36 loss that ended a streak of six consecutive wins. Zalgiris relies on their excellent three-point shooting, where they lead the EuroLeague with a 40.1% success rate. Arnas Butkevicius has been especially inspired from the perimeter with 9-of-11 three-pointers over the last three games. Partizan, by contrast, is one of the least effective teams in this area (34.1%) and will need more players to accompany Isaac Bonga's recent improvement, who has made multiple three-pointers in five of his last seven games.
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne vs Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (20:45 CEST)
Crvena Zvezda (20-16) will continue to pressure in the battle to finish in the top six when they visit last-place ASVEL (8-28). The Serbian squad arrives strengthened after their important win over Paris, in which Codi Miller-McIntyre ran the offense with authority, recording 16 points and 14 assists. Additionally, the team showed great collective intensity that allowed them to grab 16 offensive rebounds in that game. Ognjen Dobric is also going through a good stretch from the perimeter after making five three-pointers in the last matchday. On the French side, Shaq Harrison will try to maintain his good outside shooting after going 5-of-7 from three-point range in the loss to Monaco. That result mathematically confirmed ASVEL's last-place finish in the standings, so matching the competitive motivation of a Zvezda team forced to win could prove difficult for the home team in the final stretch of a difficult season.