Real Madrid vs AEK Athens basketball matchup
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Real Madrid, 4th with 9 points, visit 29th-placed AEK Athens in the Champions League league phase.
AEK, the Greek champions, host their biggest European night yet at their new arena.
Background
Real Madrid are the Spanish club coached by José Mourinho, sitting 4th in the Champions League league phase with 9 points from three wins. AEK Athens are the defending Greek champions, coached by Marko Nikolić, and sit 29th with 3 points. The two have met only twice in the Champions League, drawing both 2002/03 group games, and once in the 1985/86 UEFA Cup, which Real Madrid won 5–1 on aggregate. AEK are hosting the match at the Allwyn Arena in Athens, which Tipstop, citing Eurosport, describes as their most important rival hosted there since the stadium's inauguration.
How it unfolded
- Sep 18, 1985AEK Athens beat Real Madrid 1–0 at home in the UEFA Cup.
- Oct 2, 1985Real Madrid won the return leg 5–0 and advanced 5–1 on aggregate.
- Oct 2, 2002AEK Athens and Real Madrid drew 3–3 in the Champions League.
- Oct 22, 2002The reverse Champions League meeting ended 2–2.
- Sep 8, 2026Real Madrid beat Inter 3–0; AEK Athens drew 0–0 with LASK in the league phase.
- Oct 14, 2026Real Madrid won 1–0 at Roma; AEK Athens lost 3–1 at Shakhtar Donetsk.
- Oct 20, 2026 /21AEK Athens lost 5–1 at Manchester City; Real Madrid beat RB Leipzig.
- Oct 24, 2026AEK Athens beat Panathinaikos 5–0.
- Oct 25, 2026Real Madrid won 2–1 at Barcelona.
- Nov 4, 2026The sides meet in the Champions League league phase, matchday 4, at 5:45 p.m. at the Allwyn Arena in Athens.
Who’s saying what
- Analysts
- Livescore/SI's Andrew Headspeath predicts a 1–4 Real Madrid win.
- Analysts
- Action Network analyst Charlie DiSturco picks Real Madrid with over 3.5 goals at +154.
- Caution
- Tipstop, citing Eurosport, says coach Nikolić is under pressure after AEK's last two defeats.
Still unverified
Tipstop says no head-to-head meeting appears in its database, while Eurosport reports a last European duel on October 22, 2002 (2–2). Real Madrid's October 21 result is listed as 5–2 against RB Leipzig on a youth-league page and 4–1 on the senior page; AEK's October 20 result is listed as a 1–1 draw on the youth page and a 5–1 loss on the senior page.