Champions League Matchday Two Preview, Group G: September 28, 2010

Ajax vs AC Milan

Fifteen years ago, this may have sounded like something you would expect to see in the Champions League final, but today, this match is a very different story.

The thing with these two sides is that with the form that they are on and the level of ability that the two teams have they may struggle to get through the group stages.

Ajax bombed against Real Madrid and they need to win this to keep their hopes alive. Domestically, Ajax have been nothing short of brilliant. The problem is in the European competitions, where they haven’t looked so good, winning only two of their last five matches.

AC Milan—well, this is an interesting side, if nothing else.

On paper, they are a good side, and they did gain Robinho and Ibrahimovic right at the end of the transfer window. The new coach seems to be confused as to what to do with a squad of their calibre. It’s not that he’s doing anything wrong; what he does just doesn’t seem to be working.

The real issue will be whether or not they’ve sorted out their shaky defence which resulted in the lack of even a single clean sheet in last year's Champions League.

This is a match of two teams who are shadows of their former selves, although AC Milan may just have the edge.

Auxerre vs Real Madrid

Real Madrid really seem to struggle when they play in France, and Auxerre will be looking to capitalise on their home-field advantage. This is the first time that these two sides have met in an European competition, and it would be a feather in any teams cap to be unbeaten by Real Madrid.

Auxerre do have a decent defensive record at home, the only problem is they don’t seem to score all too often in Europe. It will be interesting to see if Real can break down Auxerre, who are sure to be cagey when playing against one of Europe’s best teams.

Real Madrid have been leaking goals away from home in the Champions League—they’ve only managed to keep two clean sheets in their last 16 away matches in Europe.

Having said that, if they play like they did against Ajax it wont matter too much if they let a few in, they mustered 35 shots against Ajax which is a testament to their strength going forwards.

Joe - livescoredaily.com - live scores and live sports