Real Madrid vs Ajax: TV channel, live stream, team news & preview
Los Blancos are in a strong position to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League but will have to do so without Sergio Ramos
Real Madrid may hold the advantage over Ajax ahead of their last-16 second-leg Champions League meeting at the Santiago Bernabeu, but Santi Solari’s side still have work to do if they are to progress.
The three-time defending champions edged the first leg thanks to a late strike from Marco Asensio, which gave them a 2-1 victory after Hakim Ziyech had levelled Karim Benzema’s opening goal.
It means that the Amsterdam outfit will have to score at least twice in the Spanish capital to have a hope of progressing, but Los Blancos are in a difficult period , having lost back-to-back Clasicos against Barcelona.
| Game | Real Madrid vs Ajax |
| Date | Tuesday, March 5 |
| Time | 8:00pm GMT / 3:00pm ET |
| Stream (US only) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) .
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| TNT USA / Univision Deportes / UniMas | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will be broadcast on BT Sport 2 and available to stream via BT Sport Live.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| BT Sport 2 | BT Sport Live |
| Position | Real Madrid squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Navas, Luca, Courtois |
| Defenders | Carvajal, Nacho, Varane, Marcelo, Reguilon, Vallejo |
| Midfielders | Kroos, Modric, Casemiro, Valverde, Vazquez, Ceballos, Isco, Asensio |
| Forwards | Benzema, Bale, Vinicius Junior, Mariano |
Sergio Ramos is Real Madrid’s major absentee for this match. He has been handed a two-game suspension by UEFA for deliberately being booked in the closing stages of the first leg.
Marco Llorente is the only injury concern for Santiago Solari.
Gareth Bale is set to start on the bench after being whistled as he was replaced during Saturday’s Clasico.
Real Madrid starting XI: Courtois, Carvajal, Varane, Nacho, Reguilon, Modric, Casemiro, Kroos, Vazquez, Benzema, Vinicius
| Position | Ajax squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Onana, Lamprou, Varela |
| Defenders | Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Taliafico, Sinkgraven, Veltman, Kristensen, Magallan |
| Midfielders | Schone, Van de Beek, De Jong, De Wit |
| Forwards | Dolberg, Ziyech, Tadic, Neres, Huntelaar, Labyad |
Ajax are missing Carel Eiting, Hassane Bande and Vaclav Cerny because of injury.
Six of the visiting squad will be suspended for the first leg of the quarter-final if they are booked in this clash, including Matthijs de Ligt and Daley Blind.
Ajax starting XI: Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, Schone, Van de Beek, De Jong, Ziyech, Tadic, Neres
Real Madrid are 8/13 favourites to win this encounter, with Ajax offered at 9/2 by bet365 . Meanwhile, a draw is available at 7/2.
Click here to see more offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
Real Madrid’s quest for a remarkable fourth Champions League in succession continues on Tuesday, when they play host to another iconic European giant in the form of Ajax.
Having won the crown in each of the last three years, the Spanish side have forgotten how to lose European ties, though an inconsistent season means that they cannot have their usual certainty ahead of this match, despite carrying a 2-1 advantage from the first leg three weeks ago.
Since that evening, Madrid have suffered defeats in three successive home matches, including back-to-back games against Barcelona that ended their challenge in the Copa del Rey and effectively killed their hopes of winning La Liga.
The Champions League is all that is left for Santiago Solari and his team.
“We want to win it,” the interim coach intimated. “We want to go into this tie in the best way, this team has character.
“This is the Champions League, we’re going to try and win.”
Indeed, Solari’s future in the dugout would seem to hinge on the competition, with a string of top European coaches being linked with the position, prompting the Argentine to quip : “This club has always had more suitors than Julia Roberts.”
Madrid have been criticised for their lack of goals this season, but on Tuesday the focus will be on the defence, which must simply limit their opponents to fewer than two to guarantee a quarter-final berth.
While the feeling from the Netherlands is that Madrid are favourites, they are not overwhelmingly so.
“Real Madrid are going through a hard time and they’re not in their best form,” Ronald de Boer, a former Barcelona and Ajax star, told Radio Marca . “If there’s ever a time to win at the Bernabeu it’s today because they’re not in form.
“If Ajax play as they did in Amsterdam, they can score two goals, but Madrid’s season is all down to the Champions League.”
Ajax sporting director Marc Overmars, formerly a winger of some repute with Barca, Arsenal and the Netherlands, echoed that sentiment when speaking with EFE .
“Of course, we believe we have what it takes to overturn the deficit and beat Real Madrid, but the odds are stacked heavily against us,” he said. “In my opinion, we have a 20 percent chance of going through, whereas Real Madrid have an 80 percent chance.”
Meanwhile, coach Erik ten Hag was in bullish mood on the eve of the game.
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“We’re Ajax and we don’t care about the team that is in front of us,” he said. “Our goal is always the same: to dominate, score and win.”
Real Madrid are uncharacteristically vulnerable – and their opponents know it.