Real Madrid-Maccabi: start of three games this week at WiZink Center

Real Madrid will be playing three games over the next six days at the WiZink Center. The first match will be this evening against Maccabi as part of a new EuroLeague double-header. On Thursday Madrid host Asvel and on Sunday Bàsquet Girona in the Liga Endesa. Chus Mateo's men are leaders in the competition's standings and will be trying to secure their 12th consecutive victory on their home court, where they are yet to taste defeat so far.

In addition to the long-standing rivalry between the two teams, tonight's encounter has much more spice to it. The two best offences and the two highest rated teams go head-to-head. Real Madrid lead in both areas with an average of 89 points and 108.1 in PIR. Their opponents average 85.8 in scoring and 94.8 in PIR. The Whites also lead the way in rebounds and assists, while Maccabi are third in both and are leaders in offensive rebounds. Chus Mateo's boys will have to be especially attentive to this aspect if they are to play their game and counter at pace. It should be a fantastic game of basketball.

Madrid are currently the clear leaders in the EuroLeague with 20 wins from 23 games. They are seven ahead of Maccabi, who are seventh and are currently siyt in the play-in positions. The Whites will be vying to continue their winning streak, especially at home, to secure their place in the playoffs as soon as possible. They have a chance to equal their second-best home start, which amounted to 13 wins in the 2021/22 campaign. The record stands at 15 in 2013/14. Meanwhile, the Israelis have triumphed in four of their 10 outings, but the last one was just before the end of 2023 in Kaunas.

Maximum physical demand
The Whites will once again have to cope with injuries. Tavares and Llull continue with their recovery processes and Yabusele and Hezonja were unavailable for the last league game, although Chus Mateo said he expects to have them back. Campazzo, Musa, Deck and Poirier are the other most-valued players in the squad. Maccabi are one of the most physical teams in the competition, with two very gifted point guards in Lorenzo Brown and Baldwin IV, an all-round small forward in Colson, and a versatile and powerful inside game with Nebo, Sorkin and former Valencian players Web III and Rivero. In the previous match Real Madrid won 70-99 in Belgrade and since November 2011 they have won 14 in a row on home court against Maccabi.