AEK Athens vs Real Madrid – News and Probable Lineups

Real Madrid is set to try and maintain their perfect record in this season’s Champions League group stage when they face AEK Athens on Wednesday evening in Athens.

Currently, Los Blancos sit fourth in the overall Champions League standings, having secured nine points from three matches, whereas AEK Athens finds themselves in 29th place with three points to their name.

Match overview

AEK Athens began their Champions League group stage journey with a narrow 1-0 win over LASK Linz. However, they have since suffered two disappointing losses, including a 3-1 defeat against Shakhtar Donetsk on October 14 and a 5-1 setback versus Manchester City on October 20.

Under the management of Marko Nikolic, AEK Athens has lost four of their last five games across all competitions, which includes their previous two domestic matches against PAOK and Panathinaikos.

Currently, the Yellow-Blacks are 29th in the Champions League rankings, having lost only once in their four previous encounters with Real Madrid.

The first two clashes between these clubs took place in the UEFA Cup back in 1985, with AEK Athens triumphing 1-0 in the first leg before Real Madrid came back to win the second leg 5-0, easily progressing to the next stage.

They also competed twice in the group stage of the 2002-03 Champions League, where both matches resulted in draws, including a thrilling 3-3 tie in Athens, leaving the Yellow-Blacks unbeaten at home against the European giants Real Madrid.

Real Madrid has only secured victory in one of their last eight away UEFA encounters against Greek teams, managing to draw five times in that stretch.

However, Jose Mourinho’s squad comes into this match in fantastic form, having won all of their last six matches in various competitions, showing great resilience after their 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the last Madrid derby prior to the recent international break.

Los Blancos will approach this fixture on the back of a solid 3-0 win against Racing de Santander in La Liga, and they also triumphed 4-1 over RB Leipzig in their most recent Champions League outing.

Real Madrid holds a perfect record in this season’s Champions League league stage, garnering nine points from three matches, and currently sits in fourth place in the standings.

Mourinho’s team is set to face PSV Eindhoven, Arsenal, LASK Linz, and Shakhtar Donetsk in their remaining four fixtures in this season’s league stage.

Team News

AEK Athens will be missing Thomas Strakosha (hand), and both Joao Mario (illness) and Lazaros Rota (illness) will need to be assessed before the match.

Former Real Madrid attacker Luka Jovic is expected to play centrally for the home side; the 28-year-old striker has been in excellent form this season, with seven goals in 15 appearances.

Additionally, Barnabas Varga, who is AEK’s top scorer this season with nine goals in 13 games across all competitions, is likely to start in a central role.

On the Real Madrid front, Vinicius Junior is available, and it is anticipated that he will be brought into the starting lineup on the left wing, as he is currently serving a domestic suspension.

Federico Valverde has returned to training following a hamstring injury, and he is likely to be included in the squad for this fixture.

However, Rodrygo (knee) and Raul Asencio (leg) are confirmed absences for this match.

Yan Diomande may start on the right flank, with Arda Guler expected to drop back into a central midfield position, while Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe will operate in the attacking region.

AEK Athens probable starting XI:

Brignoli; Rota, Moukoudi, Relvas, Pilo; Majer, Arriaga, Marin, Mario; Jovic, Varga

Real Madrid probable starting XI:

Courteous; Dumfries, Rudiger, Huijsen, Carreras; Tchouameni, Guler; Diomande, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappe

At this moment, Real Madrid is performing exceptionally well, and we fully anticipate that Los Blancos will secure all three points against an AEK Athens side currently facing challenges in terms of form.