Real Madrid vs Ajax 06/03/19

6 March 2019

A struggling Real Madrid team host the resurgent Ajax to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu looking to capitalize on their 2-1 road triumph from the first leg.

The hosts are on the verge of securing their ninth successive Champions League quarter-finals appearance although they’ve been going through severe difficulties lately. Los Blancos have not only suffered three defeats in their last five outings across all competitions (W2, L3) but two of their last losses came against arch-rivals Barcelona, including a disastrous one in Copa del Rey last midweek. Two home failures against the Blaugrana and the one against Girona has seen Los Merengues losing three straight home clashes for the first time since 2004. Probably the only thing that can comfort Santiago Solari is that Real Madrid outmaneuvered Ajax in all three of their previous H2H meetings at this venue, scoring nine goals while conceding just one along the way. However, dealing with massive problems in the final third, La Liga giants have gone from four successive home games in which they’ve bagged 2+ match goals to scoring just one goal in three games at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Meanwhile, the visitors seem to have managed to overcome a minor crisis having gone from two consecutive defeats to three victories in a row. The Lancers have scored 3+ match goals in all three of their last competitive clashes, conceding barely one goal in the process as they now go in search of their first triumph in the Spanish capital since 1995. Not so convincing at the back but devastating in attack, the Dutch heavyweights have provided genuinely good entertainment to the neutral, with seven of their last ten competitive road producing over 2.5 goals. Although kept just one clean sheet in five of their previous away meetings, Erik ten Hag’s mne have notched 3+ match goals on three occasions in that period, failing to find the net only once in the process.