Ajax v Real Madrid: Defending champions can flex their muscles

THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Last 16 continues on Wednesday as Ajax welcome Real Madrid to Amsterdam. Daniel McCulloch (@DMcCulloch1984) shares his betting thoughts.

Ajax v Real Madrid | Wednesday 13th February 2019, 20:00 | BT Sport

Real Madrid travel to Amsterdam on Wednesday night with dreams of a fourth successive Champions League title very much alive. For much of this season the Spanish side have looked a shadow of the force they were when the talismanic Cristiano Ronaldo was at the club, but their performances in recent weeks have been much improved and I fancy them to have too much for Ajax.

Madrid have won their last five games in La Liga, including a 3-1 victory over Atletico at the weekend. Additionally, their recent record in away games in this competition suggests that they will try to get this tie finished this evening.

Last season, they won at Paris St Germain, Juventus and Bayern Munich en-route to the final, while they also earned a 2-0 victory over Roma in the group stages this term. All of those sides have more options and ability than Ajax, so I am very happy to back the away win at even-money with BetVictor.

Ajax are second in Eredivisie, six points behind PSV and it’s worth noting that their most potent attacking threat this season is former Southampton winger Dusan Tadic. The Serbian has 13 goals in the league this season, at a rate of two in three, compared with the one in six he managed in the Premier League!

I can see Ajax causing the odd problem for Madrid defensively but believe that the likes of Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale (if he plays) and the precocious Vinicius Junior will have too much for them.