Another year with great ambitions for the Russian side, but Rimas Kurtinaitis has a lot of work in the defense if they want to meet their expectations.

Yes, Khimki Moscow is a great team in terms of offense, but it is their strength in defense that will determine how far they can go in the competition.

Alexey Shved will be for another year their key player, even though the Russian superstar will miss the first games due to injury. 

Khimki made two excellent signs. Former NBAer Greg Monroe from Bayern Munich and Jordan Mickey from Real Madrid are expected to add some strength in the paint.

Panathinaikos will have to see their future without the teams' most important player for a number of years. Nick Calathes is currently resident of Barcelona, and the Greek side will have a difficult task replacing him. Nemanja Nedovic will try to overcome his injuries and take the place of Calathes.

Howard Sant-Roos is a new sign for Panathinaikos, but won't be able to assist them tonight. The guard from Cuba has an injury and didn't travel to Moscow for tonight's match.

Georgios Vovoras, a rookie coach, will have to change his plans and get the best he can from the rest of his team in a difficult game.

The overall record in Euroleague since 2000, is Khimki Moscow v Panathinaikos 5-4.

Let's take a look at main and special odds markets offered at bet365 website :

• FullTime Result: 1.33(Khimki Moscow) - 3.40(Panathinaikos )
• Over/Under 168.5 points : 1.90 (Over) - 1.90 (Under)
• Race to 20 points: 1.52 (Khimki Moscow ) - 2.4-(Panathinaikos )

*bet365 odds as offered at  30/09, 15:00CET (subject to change without prior notice) | 18+, T&Cs Apply, BeGambleAware.org

Aaron White introduced himself by playing for Zalgiris Kaunas. Now he returns to Euroleague wearing another green jersey. And he is ready in his debut with his new team to overcome the problems that a powerful front line will cause him. Especially Jones Jerebko, who is considered as one of the EuroLeague's best glue guys. An intense battle is expected between those two.