Efes Anadolu Istanbul vs Besiktas 22 October 2026 Prediction

Efes vs Besiktas is a Round 7 matchup in the EuroLeague regular season. Efes won the Istanbul rivals’ Turkish league meeting 95-81, but Besiktas has the better EuroLeague record so far. Can it reverse that result?

Efes Remains Inconsistent

Pablo Laso’s team had mixed results last week. Efes lost 101-93 at home to Bayern, then beat Zalgiris 85-70 in Kaunas. Efes followed that with a 73-70 league loss to Erokspor. Guard Dozier is also expected to miss a couple of weeks, joining James and Cordinier on the injury list.

Efes is allowing 85 points per game, the sixth-best mark in the EuroLeague. That figure is somewhat misleading: opponents have scored at least 84 points in four of Efes’ five games. Efes is also among the bottom five teams in scoring at 82 points per game, with a 44.7% field goal percentage.

Efes Predicted Lineup: Payne, Strazel, Malcolm, Saric, Fernando

Out: James, Papagiannis, Dozier and Cordinier (all injured)

Manager: Pablo Laso

Besiktas Adds Walker

Besiktas has signed shooting guard Walker after Denver waived him. He averaged 15.2 points per game in the EuroLeague for Maccabi last season. Besiktas is 11th at 3-3. Dusan Alimpijevic’s team lost 100-82 at Hapoel last week before beating Bayern 95-87 at home.

Besiktas ranks in the top five in scoring at 92.3 points per game, but also in the bottom five defensively, allowing 92.5. Finding a better balance remains a priority. For now, its offense has helped it earn three wins, one more than Efes.

Besiktas Predicted Lineup: Dotson, Wilbekin, Brown, Omoruyi, Zizic

Out: Jeffries (injury); Aksu (manager’s decision)

Manager: Dusan Alimpijevic

Efes Won the Earlier League Meeting

Efes beat Besiktas 95-81 at home in a Turkish Super League game in September.

Efes vs Besiktas Prediction: Besiktas Handicap +5.5

Main prediction: The September result carries less weight now. Efes has several players out, while Besiktas has added to its roster. Besiktas beat Bayern 95-87 and Galatasaray 83-80 in its last two games. It also averages 92.3 points per EuroLeague game to Efes’ 82. With Dozier out, Efes may have a harder time containing that offense. The pick is Besiktas +5.5 at 1.71.

Total points prediction: Efes’ two EuroLeague home games finished 94-84 against Real Madrid and 93-101 against Bayern. All six Besiktas games have produced at least 176 combined points. Both teams rank in the top 10 in possessions per game, at 76.7 and 75.7, respectively. The pick is over 172.5 total points at 1.81.