Played
December 4, 2012 8:45 PM WAT
Estadio Santiago Bernabéu — Madrid
Referee:‬ P. Kralovec‎
Attendance:‬ 57245‎
 
28′ Callejón
 
49′ Kaká
 
88′ Callejón
 

Real Madrid - Ajax Preview: Frank de Boer's side look to clinch Europa League spot

Jose Mourinho's men have already booked their place in the last 16 and have secured second place, and face the Eredivisie champions who are fighting to stay in Europe

By Martin Macdonald

Real Madrid scores against Ajax
Getty
  PROBABLE LINEUPS

REAL MADRID

Casillas
Ramos, Varane, Pepe, Coentrao
Modric, Khedira
Callejon, Kaka, Ronaldo
Benzema
AJAX

Vermeer
Van Rhijn, Alderweireld, Moisander, Blind
Poulsen, Enoh, Eriksen
 De Jong, Boerrigter
Hoesen

Jose Mourinho goes into the match knowing that their second place finish in Group D is secured. Due to their head-to-head results with Borussia Dortmund they cannot win the group, so the Real Madrid coach may opt to freshen up his starting XI.

It is unlikely to be a complete overhaul, but Raphael Varane has been impressive in his rare appearances this season, and may be given a starting berth at the back due to Alvaro Arbeloa's suspension. Sergio Ramos could be shifted out to right-back.

Xabi Alonso has been playing a lot of football recently and may be allowed to sit this one out, with Luka Modric ready to drop back into the deeper role in midfield.

Despite resting some faces, Mourinho will still want to end the Group Stage on a high, so expect big hitters Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema to still feature.

Ajax, on the other hand, have plenty to play for. The Eredivisie champions are placed third in the group and find themselves one point ahead of Manchester City, and with a place in the Europa League up for grabs, they will need to put in a good performance at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Ryan Babel is still sidelined with a dislocated shoulder, so there could be a chance in attack for Danny Hoesen, who scored in Ajax's 3-1 victory over PSV at the weekend.

  DID YOU KNOW?
  • These two sides have met five times in the past three seasons and Madrid have won each game, most recently a 4-1 victory in Amsterdam in October.
  • Real Madrid's seven-game winning streak at home in the Champions League was ended by a 2-2 draw with Dortmund on matchday four.
  • Los Blancos' home record against teams from the Netherlands is W9 D1 L2.
  • Ajax have failed to win on any of their last five visits to Spain, losing four. Their last success was a 3-2 victory at Atletico Madrid in the 1996/97 season.
  • During four years as a Barcelona player between 1999 and 2003, Ajax coach Frank de Boer faced Madrid nine times in the Liga and the Champions League.
  • De Boer played under Madrid coach Jose Mourinho at Barcelona. The Portuguese was assistant to Louis van Gaal in the year 2000.


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Available Squads
13AdánGoalkeeper
19Raphaël VaraneDefender
15Fabio CoentraoDefender
2Ricardo CarvalhoDefender
27NachoDefender
6Sami KhediraMidfielder
8KakáMidfielder
16Luka ModricMidfielder
21CallejónStriker
7Cristiano RonaldoStriker
9Karim BenzemaStriker
-Jesús ColladoGoalkeeper
3PepeDefender
10Mesut ÖzilMidfielder
-Jose RodriguezMidfielder
22Ángel Di MaríaMidfielder
26MorataStriker
-Denis CheryshevStriker
1Kenneth VermeerGoalkeeper
3Toby AlderweireldDefender
25Niklas MoisanderDefender
17Daley BlindDefender
34Ricardo van RhijnDefender
5Christian PoulsenMidfielder
8Christian EriksenMidfielder
10Siem de JongMidfielder
21Derk BoerrigterStriker
-Danny HoesenStriker
35Viktor FischerStriker
22Jasper CillessenGoalkeeper
33Joël VeltmanDefender
35Mitchell DijksDefender
6Eyong EnohMidfielder
19Tobias SanaMidfielder
20Lasse SchöneMidfielder
37Jody LukokiStriker
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo
Striker
Real Madrid
12 0
Robert  Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski
Striker
Dortmund
10 1
Thomas Müller Thomas Müller
Striker
Bayern
8 1
Lionel Messi Lionel Messi
Striker
Barcelona
8 0
Burak Yılmaz Burak Yılmaz
Striker
Galatasaray
8 0