Real Madrid will be looking to redeem themselves in the Champions League, following their back-to-back Clasico defeats, as they target reaching the quarter-final stage for the ninth consecutive year.
Los Blancos have slipped to third in the La Liga standings, 12 points behind Barcelona at the top and five points behind city rival Atletico who sit in second place.
SEE ALSO: I’ll Join Real Madrid If They Accept 5 Of My Demands – Neymar
It's been a difficult season for Real following the sale of star player Cristiano Ronaldo and the departure of manager Zinedine Zidane last summer.
Well off the pace in La Liga, out of the Copa Del Rey, their season once again hinge on Champions League glory- as it did last term.
First, they face a vibrant young Ajax team who have scored 82 goals in Eredivisie this season, but Real have put themselves in pole position to qualify following Marco Asensio's late winner in Amsterdam to earn the holders a 2-1 victory to take into the second leg.
Real Madrid Vs Ajax kicks off at 21:00 (GMT +1) on 5 March 2019
Real Madrid Vs Ajax Pre Match INSIGHTS
- 100% of teams to have won 2-1 away from home in the first leg of a Champions League knockout match have progressed to the next round (8 previous cases).
- Real Madrid have won their last seven games in all competitions against Ajax (22 goals for, 3 against), the best ever run for the Spanish side against a single opponent in European competition. Ajax’s last victory against the Merengues was back in November 1995: 2-0 in the Champions League group stages at the Bernabeu with goals from Jari Litmanen and Patrick Kluivert.
- It’s 22 years since Ajax progressed through a Champions League knockout stage tie – in the 1996-97 campaign when the Dutch side prevailed against Atlético Madrid in the quarter-finals before being eliminated by Juventus in the semi-finals.
- Real Madrid have won the Champions League four times in the last five seasons. Juventus were the last team to eliminate Real in a Champions League knockout phase, back in the 2014-15 semi-finals.
- Real Madrid have reached the Champions League semi-finals in each of the last eight campaigns, a record run in the history of the competition.
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Real Madrid Vs Ajax Line Ups
Real Madrid Line Up (4-3-3)
- Courtois
- Carvajal
- Varane
- Fernandez
- Reguilon
- Kroos
- Casemiro
- Modric
- Vazquez
- Benzema
- Junior
Ajax Line Up (4-3-3)
- Onana
- Tagliafico
- Blind
- Ligt
- Mazraoui
- Jong
- Beek
- Schoene
- Ziyech
- Tadic
- Neres
This article was most recently revised and updated 5 years ago
