Ajax v Real Madrid

One of the most historic matches in the 1/8 of the Champions League will take place on February 13th, when Ajax hosts Real Madrid at Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam for the 9th time in the history of the club.

Ajax the 6-time finalists and 4-time champions of the Champions League are back in hopes to rise to their former glory. And while this is unlikely to happen, Ajax is still here to leave a mark in this season's Champions League. Ajax cruised through the Group stage, where they were paired with Bayern Munich, Benfica and AEK Athens. After the 6 games played Ajax and Bayern Munich were the only 2 teams that were not defeated, which is quite impressive, as Ajax managed to play a draw against Bayern on 2 occasions 1:1 and 3:3.

With high hopes for the 1/8 finals of the Champions League, Ajax drafted one of the toughest opponents in the pot, as they got paired with the 13-time Champions League winners Real Madrid. And while this may seem like the end of the road for them, Ajax are known to fight until the end, and maybe if the stars align, Ajax will manage to cause some problems for the Los Blancos.

At the moment, Ajax are 2nd in the Dutch top tier league, only losing 3 times in the span of 21 games, in addition, Ajax have not lost a match in the Champions League this season, which I have talked about before.

Real Madrid are hoping to win their 4th Champions League title in a row this season, however, with the departure of their most iconic player, Ronaldo, this might be harder to achieve than in previous seasons.

Looking at how Real Madrid performed in the Champions League thus far, they have already lost twice, against CSKA Moscow. First, they lost 1:0 in Russia and then 0:3 in Spain. Despite that, Real still managed to finish 1st in group G with AS Roma 2nd, Plzen 3rd and CSKA Moscow 4th. At the moment, Real are 2nd in LaLiga with 14-3-6 record and a 5 game winning streak in the league, as well as 8-1-1 record in all competitions in their last 10 games.

Ajax players Nicolas Tagliafico and Daley Blind are both only 1 booking away from missing the return leg.

As for Real Madrid, we expect Sergio Reguilon to replace Marcelo as the left-back, while Courtois is expected to to be the designated goalkeeper in the Champions League matches. With recent performances, Bale is no longer among the starting IX, so we can expect him to start the match from the bench and bring fresh energy later into the match if needed. Much like Tagliafico and Blind for Ajax, Sergio Ramos must avoid getting booked, as it would mean he will miss the return leg. Isco is the only player that is injured.

This will be the 9th time Ajax meets Real Madrid and 9th time they meet in the Champions League. Looking at how the teams performed against each other, Real Madrid won 6 times, while Ajax only managed to win twice, and even that back in 1995, when they won their 4th title. As for the current strength of the teams, Real Madrid are clearly a better team with many more quality players compared to Ajax. Still, Ajax cannot be underrated, as they are 2nd in the Netherlands League, which is still considered a strong European league. In addition, we can not forget Ajax managed to hold Bayern to 1:1 and 3:3 in the group stages of the Champions League. What I expect in the upcoming match is an interesting spectacle in which we should see plenty of goals. Real is expected to score goals, as they have scored at least 3 goals in their last 5/6 games. On the other side, Ajax are also more than capable of scoring goals (16 goals in the last 5 games). At home stadium, Ajax scored 23 goals in the last 5 games in all competitions, which should be something Real Madrid take notice of.

Prediction: Over 3.00 goals

Tottenham Hotspur v Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund are travelling to North London to take on the Tottenham Hotspurs in the first leg of the 1/8 finals of Champions League. The match will be played on February 13th at Wembley Stadium.

Tottenham Hotspur are coming into this match as the 3rd team in the Premier League, where they hold an overall record of 20-0-6. With 60 points, they are comfortably sitting at the 3rd spot, with 9 points to spare ahead of 4th placed Manchester United and only 5 points behind leading Manchester City.

Looking at Tottenham's recent form, they have got 3 consecutive wins behind them. In the course of those 3 matches, Tottenham won against Watford (2:1), Newcastle (1:0) and most recently Leicester (3:1). While Tottenham Hotspur are not among the teams who are expected to win the Champions League, they should not be underestimated. With the excellent performances, which got them the 3rd spot in the Premier League, Mauricio Pochettino’s men are a force to be reckoned with. Add their impressive run of 3 consecutive wins, and you've got a team that is more than capable of facing any team you throw at them. But the question is, can Borussia Dortmund stop Tottenham and come out of England with a win?

What an impressive season Borussia Dortmund is having. Not only have they cruised through the Group stages of the Champions League with a 4-1-1- record, Borussia Dortmund are also at the top of Bundesliga, 5 points above Bayern Munich. Looking at their performances in the Bundesliga, Borussia hold a 15-5-1 record, which makes them the only team in the Bundesliga that has lost only once. While their season as a whole is impressive, Borussia have failed to win their last 3 games. Borussia drew against Eintracht Frankfurt (1:1) and Hoffenheim (3:3), and most importantly lost to Werder Bremen (3:4), which saw them being knocked out of the DFB Cup. With those poor performances, the Lucien Favre’s men are under a lot of pressure to perform in the Champions League, which just might work against them, as they face hot Spurs (no pun intended).

While the match is going to be played in England, Dortmund are not really considered an underdog. Despite their recent 3 matches not ending in a way they would have wanted, Dortmund are still the top team in Germany. Not only that but Dortmund have been performing well in all competitions. On the other side, Tottenham have been in an excellent form, and while they are not the top team in the Premier League the 3rd spot, only 5 points behind the leading team is far from only an "ok" result. To be fair I could argue the 3rd spot in Premier League is just as valuable as the 1st or 2nd spot in Bundesliga. Taking all into consideration, I see this match ending in Tottenham's favour due to 2 reasons. Firstly, Dortmund are under a lot of pressure to perform up to par, which just might get to them. Secondly, Tottenham are in a better form compared to Dortmund and I expect the good form to extend into this fixture. While I believe Tottenham will be the team that will come out of this fixture as the winners, I cannot wait to see how ends up advancing into the next stage of the Champions League.

Prediction: Tottenham to win