Ajax vs. Barcelona: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview

Barcelona are already safely through to the knockout stages of the Champions League with two matches left in group play. The same can't be said for Ajax, which are caught in a battle with AC Milan and Celtic for the second berth out of Group H.

Barca easily cruised past Ajax in the first meeting between the squads. They scored a 4-0 win with a hat-trick from Lionel Messi setting the pace. The superstar forward won't be available for the rematch, however, as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury.

Of course, with Barcelona's nearly unmatched depth, the Godenzonen shouldn't expect the task to get any easier because Messi is out. It's still going to take an extraordinary effort for the Dutch side to secure a positive result to bolster their chances of advancing.

Knowing that, let's take a glance at all the key information for the UCL clash, followed by an examination of the top storyline and a match prediction.

Where: Amsterdam Arena in Amsterdam, Netherlands

When: Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 2:45 p.m. ET (7:45 p.m. GMT)

Watch: Fox Sports Net and Sky Sports Red Button

Live Stream: Fox Soccer 2Go

Match Forecast (via Bloomberg Sports)

Barcelona: 63.5 percent

Ajax: 15.6 percent

Draw: 20.9 percent

Top Storyline: Can Barcelona continue their recent run of dominance?

The sign of an elite team is finding a way to win when its not in top form. That was the case for Barcelona over the weekend against Granada. They didn't look like one of the best clubs in the world aside from a few moments, but when the final whistle blew, the scoreline still read 4-0.

Although Barca are at their best when Messi is leading the attack and clicking on all cylinders, Neymar and the underrated Alexis Sanchez are capable of carrying the load in his absence. Few clubs can lose such an important piece and continue to thrive.

That's why the Blaugrana should feel confident about their ability to keep their unbeaten run across La Liga and Champions League play alive. When a player goes down, others step up to fill the void, and the situation with Messi is no different.

It's bad news for Ajax. In the first meeting, they actually did a nice job of preventing Barcelona from controlling the possession battle like they so often do. Yet, when they did control the play, creating good chances was a major issue.

The Godenzonen will face an even tougher challenge with Kolbeinn Sigthorsson and Siem de Jong both dealing with injuries. Keeping pace with Barcelona is hard enough when everybody is at full strength, and Ajax probably won't be anywhere close.

Prediction

Ajax would receive a huge boost if they can get a result from this match, but they certainly face an uphill battle. Barcelona are playing like a championship contender and it would take a great performance for the home club to even get a draw.

More likely, Barcelona will put together another strong team performance, which has allowed the club to reach such great heights in recent years. Expect Barca to strike once in each half, and Ajax won't have the attacking firepower to keep pace.

Barcelona 2, Ajax 0