Bayern Munich are set to face their biggest challenge in their first match of the season. They will play Real Madrid on Thursday, 3rd October in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague 2024/25 season.
Real Madrid, also known as Los Blancos, were the runners-up in the 2023/24 season. They topped the round-robin matches with a score of 243 points, however, lost the finals to Panathinaikos Athens 86–97.
Meanwhile, Bayern ended their round-robin matches in the 15th position with a score of negative 120. They won 13 and lost 21 matches out of the total 34. Meanwhile, Los Blancos won 27 and lost 7.
This season, Bayern has signed a few new names to strengthen their ranks. Will this give them the boost they’ve been looking for? Or will Real Madrid outperform them on the basketball court? Below, we give you the Turkish Airlines Euroleague: Bayern vs Real Madrid team previews, roster, head-to-head, and odds.
Match Details
Date: Thursday, 3 October 2024
Kick-off: 21:45 BST
Venue: SAP Garden, Munich, Germany
Where to Watch
The match will be broadcast live on the EuroTV. However, fans will need to create a login to watch the match.
FC Bayern Munich: Analysis and Team Preview
Bayern made its Euroleague debut in the 2013/14 season but has not managed to win any trophy yet. In fact, it has not even made it to the top 10 teams, except for the 2021/22 season, where it finished eighth.
They brought a new coach Pablo Laso in 2023, who helped Real Madrid win the EuroLeague in 2015 and 2018. Under Pablo, Bayern won the 2024 German National Cup. However, their EuroLeague performance was lacking, which led to the appointment of yet another coach – Gordie Herbert. He has been the head coach of national teams of Austria, Germany, France, Canada, Georgia, Finland, and Russia. Herbert has signed a 2-year contract with Bayern.
Bayern Munich Roster
| Guards | Forwards | Centres |
| Nick Weiler-Babb | Oscar Da Silva (1) | Johannes Voigtmann (7) |
| Carsen Edwards (jersey number 3) | Niels Giffey (5) | Elias Harris (20) |
| Shabazz Napier (8) | Vladimir Lucic (11) | Danko Brankovic (22) |
| Ivan Kharchenkov (10) | Kevin Yebo (53) | Devin Booker (31) |
| Andreas Obst (13) | ||
| Yam Madar (41) |
Shabazz Napier has signed a one-year deal as a point guard with Bayern. The 33-year-old arrives from Emporio Armani Milan, where he averaged 10.9 points and 4.0 assists last season.
Centre Johannes Voigtmann is back in the German team after three years in Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, three in CSKA, and two in Milan. In his last season with Milan, Johannes averaged 7.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
Point guard Carsen Edwards, who was the MVP in the German Nationals, has extended his contract for one more season with Bayern.
Real Madrid: Analysis and Team Preview
Real Madrid has won the EuroLeague 11 times. It has also won 37 domestic leagues, and lifted 29 more trophies, turning it into one of the most-celebrated basketball clubs in the world.
Their last win in the EuroLeague was in the 2022/23 season. Last season, they made it to the finals but lost out to Panathinaikos 80–95.
Their head coach, Pablo Laso, left after a long spell from 2011 to 2022, where he led Real Madrid to two Euroleague victories. Their current coach is Chus Mateo, who was named the coach of the year in 2023 as he led his team to seven victories last year.
Real Madrid Roster
| Forwards | Guards | Centres |
| Usman Garuba (jersey number 203) | Xavier Rathan-Mayes (193) | Serge Ibaka (208) |
| Mario Hezonja (206) | Andres Feliz (185) | Walter Tavares (220) |
| Alberto Abalde ( 202) | Facu Campazzo (181) | Eli Ndiaye (204) |
| Gabriel Deck (198) | Sergio Llull (190) | |
| Dzanan Musa (205) |
They have an established core of players and some promising new additions. Forward Rudy Fernandez has retired after playing a total of 349 games in the EuroLeague. His career average ended up 8.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals. He has also won two EuroBasket trophies, in addition to two silver medals and one bronze medal at the Olympic Games for Spain.
New additions include forward Usman Garuba, who returns after three years. He was with the Golden State Warriors in the NBA last season, averaging 13.6 points, 11.0 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks.
Forward Alberto Abalde’s contract has been extended by three seasons. Last season, he appeared in 24 games, averaging 3.6 points and 1.9 rebounds.
Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid: Head-to-Head and Odds
The two teams have faced each other 15 times since 2000. Real Madrid has won 12 games in their head-to-head matches, while Bayern Munich has won only 3.
Recent encounters between these two sides have been closely contested affairs. Here are the results of their last three matches:
- 9 January 2024: Real Madrid 92–71 Bayern
- 14 December 2023: Real Madrid 88–73 Bayern
- 6 April 2023: Real Madrid 79–67 Bayern
Here are the betting odds for the upcoming game as per 7bet.
| Bayern | Real Madrid |
| 3/1 | 4/15 |
Please note that the odds are accurate as per the publishing time of the article. Make sure to check the odds before placing a bet.
For more information about betting on this fixture, visit 7bet’s Euroleague Odds page.
Special Tips
With new additions, both teams are charged up to take on each other next Thursday. According to last year’s standings, the teams are not evenly matched, since Los Blancos finished first and Bayern finished 15th in the round-robin matches. So in this case, if you are not sure which team to back, there are several types of bets that you can take that consider only a specific aspect of the game. For example, you can bet whether the total score will be over or under the bookmaker’s prediction. Similarly, you can bet whether the total score will be an odd or even number.
Betting is only available to participants above 18 years. Please bet responsibly. BeGambleAware.org