Chus Mateo, Real Madrid: 'We must now forget about these last two weeks'

Title holder and league leader Real (22-4) will attempt to continue its remarkable dominance over third-placed Panathinaikos (16-10), which has lost 16 of its last 17 games against the Spanish giant, and 12 straight in Madrid.

Jerian Grant has a key role to play on defense for the Greek team in breaking the rhythm of Real playmaker Facu Campazzo, while we can also look forward to an all-action duel between explosive big men as Guerschon Yabusele goes up against Mathias Lessort. Former Green Mario Hezonja led Real to a 78-90 victory in Athens earlier in the season, scoring 19 points, to help overcome 24 points for Panathinaikos guard Kendrick Nunn.

Chus Mateo, Real Madrid head coach

"The most important thing for this game is staying focused. We come from a different week than what we are used to. Some players have been with their national teams, some have had long trips, some have rested and some hav worked without competing. So we must keep concentration for 40 minutes against a team that is playing better and better, they push you to the limit and they play more and more as a team. Their place in the standings reflect those improvements. We must now forget about these last two weeks and focus on the EuroLeague again."

Ergin Ataman, Panathinaikos head coach

"Last eight games in the EuroLeague, and all of them will be difficult. This is not, for me, the most difficult game, but it is not a must-win game for us. We will try to play good basketball. In Athens we played well in the first half against Real, but after that they won with easy baskets. It will not be an easy game, but if we want to fight for the big goals, we have to play hard and with confidence in this court."

Sergio Rodriguez, Real Madrid player

"Panathinaikos is a very talented team that is doing things right, with some important players. We come from the break and we are lucky to be playing in front of our people in Madrid after a few weeks playing on the road. It's important to get back to the EuroLeague with a win. We could practice al ittle bit, but we are eager to play in our court, because we want to play at the high level we played before the break."

Panagiotis Kalaitzakis, Panathinaikos player

"We haven't been able to practice all together since we were with the national teams. Basically on Wednesday we came back to practice all together. Real is a very good team and we are not far away from them. We have shown good things although we didnt play well lately. Our goal is to win the game. There isn't a game that comes in and doesn't try to win it. We are Panathinaikos."