Real Madrid take their flawless Champions League record to Greece on Wednesday, facing AEK Athens with a chance to all but lock up a place in the competition's top eight.

Los Blancos arrive in ominous form. Fresh off a statement win over Barcelona in La Liga that restored them to the top of the domestic table, Madrid are chasing a seventh consecutive victory across all competitions, and observers note they look more convincing and dominant than at any point in the past year. The 15-time European champions are one of the sides still defending a perfect start in this season's Champions League — Liverpool, in action the same night, are the other.

Athens, though, is no formality. AEK boast a remarkable home record that makes Wednesday a genuine test rather than a procession, and the atmosphere in the Greek capital has a way of levelling reputations.

The stakes are straightforward: win, and Madrid essentially bank a top-eight finish in the league phase with games to spare, skipping the playoff round and earning a friendlier bracket. Anything less hands AEK a famous scalp and reopens the math. For a Madrid side riding its highest confidence in a year, Athens is exactly the kind of trap game that reveals whether the revival is real.