AEK Athens v Real Madrid: Preview, expected line-ups, stats and where to watch

Where to watch AEK Athens vs Madrid: TV channel, live online streams

AEK Athens vs Real Madrid kicks off at 17:45 GMT (13:45 ET / 10:45 PT) on Wednesday, November 4 at the ALLWYN Arena in Athens.

The Champions League match is live on TNT Sports 3 and TNT Sports 9 in the UK, with streaming on HBO Max. In the US, it’s on Paramount Plus.

If you live outside the UK or the US, visit UEFA’s Champions League broadcaster list to find out where to watch it in your region.

AEK Athens vs Real Madrid preview

José Mourinho’s Real Madrid are on a roll. Six straight wins in all competitions, a Clásico victory at Camp Nou and a perfect Champions League record have transformed the mood around the Bernabéu, and on Wednesday evening they head to Athens looking to keep it going against AEK.

Sunday’s 3-0 win at Racing Santander was another comfortable afternoon in La Liga for Madrid and they sit in the Champions League’s top four with nine points from three games after beating Inter, Roma and RB Leipzig.

AEK Athens are in a much tougher spot. Marko Nikolić’s side opened their league-phase campaign with a 1-0 win over LASK, but they were then beaten by Shakhtar Donetsk and thrashed 5-1 by Manchester City. They are 29th in the table with three points, and they come into this game after a deflating 2-0 defeat to Panathinaikos in the Athens derby.

Mourinho had flagged that derby as an important factor before the weekend. “When we go to Athens, AEK will play the derby against Panathinaikos tomorrow, so they’ll either be happy or in crisis,” he said. After their defeat, it’s the latter.

AEK do have a respectable record against Madrid, though. They have faced Los Blancos four times before and lost only once.

There’s also a familiar face in the AEK attack. Former Real Madrid striker Luka Jović is expected to lead the line.

Full updated Champions League table

AEK Athens vs Real Madrid Champions League team news

Vinícius Júnior returns for Madrid. He has missed three La Liga games through suspension, but his domestic ban doesn’t apply in Europe.

His place is no longer guaranteed, though. Yan Diomande has been outstanding in Vinícius’s absence, with four goals and four assists in six games since the international break, including a stunning strike from the edge of the box against Racing. Mourinho has refused to commit either way. “Vinicius’s situation right now is very simple: he’s not playing in La Liga, but he is in the Champions League. And I want him, I want him a lot,” he said. “And with this, I’m not saying he’s going to be a starter, but I’m not saying he’s going to be a problem either.” Reports in Spain expect Vinícius to start on Wednesday.

Federico Valverde has returned to training after missing the Racing game with discomfort he felt in the Clásico. Valverde has been Mourinho’s first choice at right-back recently, ahead of specialists Trent Alexander-Arnold and Denzel Dumfries.

Rodrygo and Raúl Asencio remain out, and Ferland Mendy is not in Madrid’s Champions League squad.

For AEK, goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha is still out with a wrist injury, so Alberto Brignoli will start in goal. Barnabás Varga returned to full fitness a couple of weeks ago and is expected to partner Jović up front.

AEK Athens vs Real Madrid predicted line ups

AEK Athens: Alberto Brignoli, Lazaros Rota, Harold Moukoudi, Filipe Relvas, Stavros Pilios, Lovro Majer, Petros Mantalos, Razvan Marin, Zini, Aboubakary Koita, Barnabas Varga, Luka Jovic

Real Madrid: Thibaut Courtois, Denzel Dumfries, Antonio Rudiger, Dean Huijsen, Marc Cucurella, Eduardo Camavinga, Bernardo Silva, Arda Guler, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe

AEK Athens vs Real Madrid stats, Champions League form

• These sides have met four times, winning one game each with two draws. Madrid won their 1985/86 UEFA Cup first round tie 5-1 on aggregate (0-1 a, 5-0 h) before drawing 3-3 in Athens and 2-2 in Madrid in the 2002/03 Champions League first group stage
• Athens striker Luka Jovic was at Real Madrid between 2019 and 2022, making nine of his 51 appearances for the club in the Champions League
• AEK are unbeaten in their two home matches against Madrid (W1 D1) and in their two home games against Spanish visitors in the Champions League proper, both draws – 3-3 against Madrid in October 2002 and 1-1 against Deportivo La Coruña in September 2003.
• A 3-1 home win against Rayo Vallecano in last season’s UEFA Conference League quarter-final second leg – confirming a 4-3 aggregate loss – ended AEK’s 16-match run without a victory against Spanish sides (D5 L11)
• Oleksandr Zubkov scored in both of his Champions League appearances against Real Madrid when he was a Shakhtar player
• Madrid’s last game against a Greek club ended in a 4-3 win at Olympiacos on Matchday 5 last season, Kylian Mbappe scoring the visitors’ goals as Madrid earned their first win away to Greek opponents at the eighth attempt (D5 L2)
• Los Blancos have won seven of their 15 games against Greek clubs (D6 L2) – scoring 37 goals – but only three of the last eight (D4 L1)
• Jude Bellingham needs one appearance to reach 60 in the Champions League. At 23 years and 128 days, the England international would be the youngest player to achieve the feat, ahead of Iker Casillas (23y 167d)
• None of Madrid’s last 33 Champions League matches has ended in a draw (W22 L11), while there have been goals in their last 34 group stage and league phase away matches, which is a club record
• Jude Bellingham has made 59 appearances in the Champions League. Aged 23 years 128 days, he would be the youngest player to reach 60; Iker Casillas (23y 167d) is the current record holder.
• Denzel Dumfries could make his 50th appearance in the Champions League, while Mbappe could score in a sixth straight outing in the competition

AEK Athens vs Real Madrid prediction

Madrid have won 12 of 14 games in all competitions this season and Mourinho seems to have found a nice blend of pragmatism and flair. They ought to be too strong for AEK.

AEK Athens FC

0 – 3

Real Madrid

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