UEFA Champions League
Ajax vs Real Madrid Preview
The last 16 of the UEFA Champions League is here.
Per last year’s draw, current and thirteen time champions Real Madrid will travel to Amsterdam to take on Ajax at the Johan Cruyff Arena in leg one on Wednesday.
Both clubs are second in their respective domestic leagues and six points behind the leaders. While Ajax are 6-1-3 in their previous ten matches, their Spanish opponents are similarly 8-1-1.
In the Champions League, Lucky Ajax and Los Blancos finished their groups on 12 points. Although the Dutch club remained undefeated throughout the group stage.
Team News
Ajax coach Erik ten Hag has no definite injury problems coming into leg one.
Rather, the former player runs a small risk of being without star midfielder Frenkie de Jong and left back Nicolás Tagliafico. Both of which are expected to be match ready after suffering knocks.
De Jong will join Barcelona in the summer and may be eager to impress his new employers against their rivals. At the same time, defender Matthijs de Ligt – also a target of the Catalan club – will start in defense.
Serbian forward Dušan Tadić will most likely lead the attack for the hosts after scoring 22 goals in all competitions.
In the case of the visitors, manager Santiago Solari has only one key player missing to injury. Midfielder Marcos Llorente faces three weeks on the sidelines with a groin injury.
As a result, the Argentinian coach is expected to use the same lineup deployed in their 3-1 victory in the Madrid Derby last weekend.
Lineups and Prediction
Ajax: Onana; Mazraoui, Blind, De Ligt, Tagliafico; Schone, De Jong, Van de Beek; Neres, Tadic, Ziyech
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Reguilon; Casemiro, Modric, Kroos; Lucas, Benzema, Vinicius
Of course, many will point to the Dutch club’s abysmal record against Madrid in recent meetings. With Ajax having lost the previous six meetings. However, the past is largely irrelevant when assessing this tie.
At the moment, ten Hag’s men are in incredible scoring form. Having scored 72 goals in only 21 league games.
Furthermore the team managed to draw with Bayern Munich twice in Group E. Showing it’s ability to stick with the big guns of Europe.
On the other hand, Madrid are confident at the moment and the current holders are looking more like the team that lifted the trophy in Kyiv last year.
Despite not originally expected to defend their title, the whites are shaping up nicely. Recent impressive performances in El Clasico and the Madrid Derby have put Europe on notice.
Although a basic unfamiliarity with their young and in-form opponents may cause stress for Real’s defense. They should be able to carry and advantage into the second leg.
Ajax 1 – 2 Real Madrid
Photo credit to Esto es Atleti via Flickr
