Champions League preview: Ajax v AC Milan
Ajax manager Martin Jol knows his side have their work cut out to qualify for the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
A 2-0 defeat against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu a fortnight ago was hardly a surprise, but it certainly heaped additional pressure on picking up at least a point this evening.
Unfortunately for Ajax, this evening’s opponents happen to be AC Milan. Equipped with a star-studded line-up to rival any of those in European football, the Rossoneri will be looking to make it two wins from two at the Amsterdam Arena.
Even at this early stage of the competition, it looks extremely likely that Milan and Real will progress to the last 16, but a shock Ajax victory tonight would certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons.
Tonight’s other Group G match sees Auxerre, who have failed to win a match this season, host Real Madrid.
Jose Mourinho’s side were held to a 0-0 draw by Levante at the weekend – their second league stalemate of the campaign – and the Portuguese coach will demand that his galaxy of stars begin performing away from home.
As the underdogs in this year’s Champions League group of death, Auxerre know that in order to stand any chance of not finishing bottom, they must pick up points at home. But that isn’t likely to happen this evening.
Elsewhere, Spartak Moscow and MSK Zilina compete in this afternoon’s early kick-off at Luzhniki Stadium.
The Russian runners-up, Spartak, recorded an excellent 1-0 away win over Marseille two weeks ago and currently sit second in Group F behind Chelsea. Zilina are seen as the weakest team of the group and were comfortably disposed of by English champions Chelsea during the opening round of matches, but the Slovakians will be far more confident of getting some points on the board against Spartak.
It’s Marseille who face the daunting prospect of travelling to Stamford Bridge this evening. Following their surprise home defeat to Spartak, the French champions will aim to stifle Chelsea in their own back yard.
Manager Didier Deschamps knows all about the Blues after playing for the Premier League side 10 years ago, and he would enjoy nothing more than getting his side’s European campaign firmly back on track with a shock win over his former employers.
In Group H, Partizan Belgrade will aim to make the headlines tonight with an unlikely victory over Arsenal. The winners of the Serbian SuperLiga were beaten 1-0 by Shakhtar Donetsk a fortnight ago, but face a Gunners side who have won just one of their last nine matches away in Europe.
Portuguese outfit Braga were torn apart by Arsene Wenger’s side at the Emirates, though. A 6-0 hammering must have severely dented their confidence, and the Group H hopefuls will be looking to put that humiliation behind them with a win over Shakhtar this evening.
And in Group E, Bayern Munich travel to St. Jakob-Park to take on Basel, while AS Roma host Romanian outfit CFR Cluj.
Roma finally got their first win of the season on Saturday with a 1-0 win against European champions Inter Milan in Serie A. This doesn’t bode particularly well for Cluj, although Sorin Cartu’s side displayed their credentials in the first round of Champions League matches by beating Basel 2-1 at home.
Meanwhile, Bayern suffered a surprise defeat to Bundesliga leaders Mainz at the weekend and will be hopeful of bouncing back in style against the Swiss side. Should last year’s Champions League finalists record their second successive European victory tonight, their passage to the knockout rounds will be all but sealed.
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