MX23RW : Thursday, October 31 22:51:57| >> :120:14155:14155:
[monks data]
Ajax
Champions League | Group Stage
Nov 5, 2014 at 7.45pm UK
 
Barcelona logo

0-2

FT(HT: 0-1)
Messi (36', 76')

Preview: Ajax vs. Barcelona

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Champions League Group F clash between Ajax and Barcelona.

Barcelona will look to avoid a third successive defeat when they travel to Ajax in the group stages of the Champions League on Wednesday.

The Spanish outfit have lost their last two league matches, with defeats to Real Madrid and Celta Vigo seeing Luis Enrique's side relinquish top spot in La Liga.

In the Champions League, meanwhile, it has also been far from plain sailing, with one defeat from their three games leaving them second in Group F.

That said, following their 3-1 win over Ajax in the reverse match, Barcelona would qualify for the knockout stages of the competition with three points in Amsterdam, should APOEL fail to beat Paris Saint-Germain in the group's other match.

Barcelona's last trip to Ajax ended in disappointment, however, with the Dutch side winning 2-1 during last season's group stages. The Spanish team have also won just two of their last nine European matches on the road, losing five times in the process.

Defeat for Ajax, meanwhile, would leave them on the brink of elimination. They have picked up just two points from their three group matches, but their home record against Spanish teams is strong, with nine wins from 17 matches.

The home side will also enter the match off the back of a thumping 4-0 win over Urk in the Dutch Cup at the weekend.

Ajax are expected to be without midfielder Thulani Sereno, while Viktor Fischer is still unavailable for the Dutch outfit.

The home side have no fresh injury concerns, however, meaning that Lasse Schone, Kolbeinn Sigthorsson and Arkadiusz Milik should all start.

The visitors, meanwhile, will be without the services of Jeremy Mathieu, who picked up a calf injury in the defeat to Celta. Meanwhile, Andres Iniesta will also miss out with a calf problem and Jordi Alba is struggling with a muscular complaint.

Luis Suarez should make his Champions League debut for the Catalan outfit, but Gerard Pique is once more expected to sit out, with Marc Bartra favourite to start in central defence alongside Javier Mascherano.

Recent form

Ajax: DDLWW

Barcelona: LWWWL

Possible starting lineups

Ajax: Cillessen; Van Rhijn, Moisander, Veltman, Viergever; Andersen, Klaassen, Zimling; Schone, Sigthorsson, Milik

Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Alves, Bartra, Mascherano, Adriano; Busquets, Rakitic, Xavi; Neymar, Messi, Suarez

Sports Mole says: 1-2


ID:186308: cacheID:186308:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5463:No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Celta Vigo's players celebrate after scoring during the Spanish league football match FC Barcelona vs RC Celta de Vigo at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on November 1, 2014
Read Next:
Match Analysis: Barcelona 0-1 Celta Vigo
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

League Phase

TeamPWDLPTS
1Aston Villa33009
2Liverpool33009
3Man City32107
4B. Leverkusen32107
5Brest32107
6Inter Milan32107
7Monaco32107
8Sporting Lisbon32107
9Arsenal32107
10Real Madrid32016
11Lille32016
12Feyenoord32016
13Barcelona32016
14Dortmund32016
15Benfica32016
16Juventus32016
17Atalanta31205
18Stuttgart31114
19Sparta Prague31114
20PSG31114
21Celtic31114
22Dinamo Zagreb31114
23AC Milan31023
24Bayern31023
25Girona31023
26Brugge31023
27Atletico31023
28PSV30212
29Bologna30121
30Shakhtar30121
31RB Leipzig30030
32Sturm Graz30030
33Salzburg30030
34Red Star30030
35Young Boys30030
36Slovan Bratislava30030


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!