Olimpia Milano Face Zalgiris with Banchi in Charge

Olimpia Milano will face Zalgiris Kaunas in Week 11 of EuroLeague. The game tips off at 20.30 at Unipol Forum. The referees will be Cortes, Kardum and Baena. Luca Banchi will make his debut as the team's head coach in this match.

Banchi last coached Milano in Europe in April 2015. Eleven years later, he is returning with Zalgiris as his first opponent again. This was also the opponent in his first European game at the Forum. This time, however, Milano arrive with a record of 1 win and 9 defeats, having lost eight straight games. Zalgiris, meanwhile, will take the court on a four-game winning streak.

Devin Booker will not play for Milano. Leandro Bolmaro is returning to the squad. Zalgiris will be without Williams-Goss. Blazevic is expected to return to a role as Valanciunas's backup.

The Zalgiris roster is fast and versatile. Carsen Edwards, Sterling Brown, Saben Lee, Keenan Evans and Grigonis are among their guards and wings. Jonas Valanciunas stands out with 12.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, and he has scored in double figures in each of the last four wins. The Lithuanian side averages around 40 rebounds per game, about seven more than Milano. Without Booker, dominance in the paint will be one of the key issues of the game.

Moses Wright and Alec Peters are expected to play a major role. Wright, a former Milano player, has been a topic of debate in recent weeks, but statistically he is one of the team's most productive players. Zalgiris head coach Tomas Masiulis stressed that Wright's numbers should be talked about. Peters is one of the players whose role has changed under the new head coach, after receiving less value under the previous management. Milano need to hold up physically, control the boards and stop the opponent's fast-paced game.