The Dutch and the Portuguese teams played the most entertaining first leg of them all. Find out if the second leg is as exciting as the first one by using this guide.

The first round of games in the UEFA Champions League KO stage saw Benfica and Ajax playing what was arguably the best of the first leg ties. Now, both teams will try to live up to the hype in the return leg of their Round of 16 tie set to take place at Johan Cruyff Arena.

The home team will enter this match on a three-game winning streak across all competitions, including a 3-2 win against Cambuur this past weekend. This will be Ajax's fourth home game in the ongoing UEFA CL season, with each and everyone of those ending in wins for the Ajacieden.

Speaking of individual performances, Ajax will rely on Sebastién Haller as their main goalscoring threat, with the footballer finding the back of the net eleven times in the competition. Other top-rated players to look out for will undoubtedly be Antony (two goals and four assists) and Dusan Tadic, who has played the full 90 minutes in his five appearances with the red and white side in the tournament.

On the other side of the pitch, Benfica enter this stage on a six-game run without a loss, which includes three wins and three draws. The Eagles will be playing their fourth UEFA Champions League match away from home in this tournament, but their record is not that impressive, earning only one win, three draws, and one 5-2 loss against Bayern München.

Speaking of individual performances, Benfica will have to rely heavily on Darwin Núñez to try and make something happen against Ajax. The Uruguayan sensation has made a name for himself and has been identified as the team's main threat in front of goal, with three goals to his name. Joao Mario and Julian Weigl will also be key to the team's efforts, as they have handed three assists between them for Benfica in the tournament.

After UEFA's decision to eliminate away goals as a tiebreaker, both teams will be forced to try and win the game in order to reach the next round of the competition. Any draw after 90 minutes will see the game being decided in extra time. If the aggregate remains level after 120 minutes, penalty kicks will be used to determine the winner.

Here are the key elements we have to consider prior to the start of this interesting game.

Ajax vs Benfica  - Who's in and who's out?

Ajax - Injured: Remko Pasveer, Maarten Stekelemburg, Sean Klaiber. Doubtful: Mohammed Ihattaren.

Benfica - Injured: Lucas Verissimo, Rodrigo Pinho, Haris Seferovic.

Ajax vs Benfica - Head-to-head stats

  • This will be the ninth UEFA CL game between these teams.

  • Ajax have beaten Benfica in four of their previous eight meetings.

  • Benfica have only collected one win against Ajax in their eight previous clashes. That win came in the 1968-1969 edition of the tournament.

  • Ajax won one and drew the other match against Benfica in the 2018-19 group stage to eliminate the Portuguese side from the tournament.

  • Benfica had only been able to score five goals in their previous seven games against Ajax. The Portuguese club added two more to its tally.

  • Ajax have kept four clean sheets in eight games against Benfica.

Broadcast info - Ajax vs Benfica

In the Netherlands: RTL 7, Ziggo Sport Voetbal.

In Portugal: TVI Player, TVI, Eleven Sports 1 Portugal.

In the U.S.: Paramount+, TUDN.com, TUDNxtra, TUDN App, Galavision, Univision NOW.

In the U.K.: BT Sport App, BT Sport 3, BTSport.com.

In Spain: Movistar Liga de Campeones 1, Movistar+.

In Italy: Mediaset Infinity, SKY Go Italia, Sky Sport 253, Sky Sport Football, NOW TV.

In France: Free, beIN SPORTS CONNECT, beIN Sports 1.

In Germany: DAZN, DAZN1.

In Canada: DAZN.

In Argentina: Star+, Fox Sports Argentina.

In Mexico: HBO Max.

In Nigeria: SuperSport MaXimo 2, Canal+ Sport 4 Afrique, DStv Now, SuperSport Premier League Nigeria.

 

Match details, result and original broadcast info

Ajax 0 - 1 Benfica

March 15, 2022 4:00pmJohan Cruijff Arena (Amsterdam)

This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.

Live TV coverage and streaming in United States

Paramount+
fuboTV
Galavision
TUDN.com
Univision NOW
TUDNxtra
TUDN App