EuroLeague: spotlight on Olimpia Milano vs. Real Madrid

The eighth round of EuroLeague action kicks off tomorrow, with all eyes on Olimpia Milano, led by coach Ettore Messina. Fresh from a victory in the Italian derby against Virtus Bologna (99-90), the reigning Italian champions recently suffered a tough league defeat, falling 91-57 to a dominant Trento, the league leader and only unbeaten team after six rounds. Milano now has a prime opportunity to recover, as they face Real Madrid at the Mediolanum Forum. The Spanish side, coached by Chus Mateo, currently sits 11th in the EuroLeague standings with a record of 3-4, while the Italian team has accumulated 2 wins against 5 losses.

It’s a challenging match-up for Milano against the European vice-champions, who are coming off an away win over UCAM Murcia (64-85) in their most recent league game. A look at the last 20 meetings between these two teams shows Real Madrid’s dominance with 17 wins to Milano’s 3. However, Milano claimed victory in their most recent encounter on February 8, winning 81-76, while Real Madrid’s last triumph came on October 19, 2023, with a score of 88-71.

After two consecutive EuroLeague losses to Bayern Munich and Milano, Virtus Bologna is ready to host Maccabi Tel Aviv at the Segafredo Arena. Following a 104-97 league win over Treviso, Marco Belinelli and his team are hunting for their second EuroLeague victory (currently 1-6). The Israeli team (3-4) enters the game on a three-game winning streak, with two wins in their domestic league (undefeated with a 5-0 record) and a close 79-78 victory over Real Madrid in EuroLeague.

The eighth EuroLeague round opens with Crvena Zvezda vs. Alba Berlin. The Serbian team has a point differential of zero, while the German team sits at the bottom of the standings with the worst point differential (-75). Paris Basketball, on a three-game EuroLeague win streak, seeks to continue its strong run against a struggling Partizan Belgrade, who have lost three straight games. Another must-watch game is Bayern Munich vs. Kauno Zalgiris, with both teams in excellent form—Bayern with four consecutive wins and Zalgiris with five. Zalgiris tops the standings with a 6-1 record, while Bayern is fifth with 5-2.

Anadolu Efes hosts Monaco, while Fenerbahce seeks an away win against LDLC ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne. Another highlight is the eternal rivalry between Panathinaikos, currently second with the best point differential (+50), and Olympiacos, sixth with a 4-3 record and the second-best differential (+41). The last 20 encounters between these teams show 12 wins for Olympiacos and 8 for Panathinaikos. In Spain, third-place Barcelona (5-2) will face eighth-place Saski Baskonia in a thrilling all-Spanish matchup.