The UEFA Champions League will continue its excitement on Wednesday with two strong clashes in the quarter-finals first leg. At 9 pm, Manchester United will host Barcelona at Old Trafford Stadium, while AFC Ajax will host Juventus at Amsterdam Arena. Ajax aims to keep his surprising results in the competition, after beating Real Madrid in the round of 16. The Dutch team was drawn in Group E with German giants Bayern Munich, S.L. Benfica, and AEK Athens FC. They qualified unbeaten for the round of 16 to meet Real Madrid. They beat the Spanish team 5-3 on aggregate. In the Dutch league, the team played six matches, scoring 18 goals and conceded only six goals. The Dutch team have been absent from the knockout stage in the UEFA Champions League in the recent seasons, despite having won the title four times, including three times in a row. Meanwhile, Juventus, which beat AC Milan 2-1 in the Serie A on Saturday, will enter the game with high spirits. However, the team will likely miss his star Cristiano Ronaldo for the injury he suffered last month with his Portuguese national team against Serbia. The Italian club depends primarily on the defensive tactics, as they have two prominent defenders, namely Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci. The team only conceded six goals throughout its run in the Champions League this season. But they also a remarkable attacking line led by Argentinian Paulo Dybala and Croatian Mario Mandžukić. In the other quarter-final clash, Barcelona enters the game with high spirits after beating Atletico Madrid in the La Liga, getting closer to win the Spanish league title for the second time in a row, next to qualifying to the final of Copa del Rey. Barcelona hopes to end its curse in the knockout stages of the Champions League, as they failed to go beyond the quarter-finals in the last three editions. The Spanish team has never won at the Old Trafford. The Catalan team is counting on its attacking line, led by Argentina's star Lionel Messi, the team's top scorer, and Uruguayan Luis Suárez. Barcelona's coach Ernesto Valverde will likely rule out French Osman Dembley after he suffered an injury against Lyon on 13 March. As for Manchester United which was revived by Ole Gunnar Solskjær who took charge of the team following Jose Mourinho, they aim to continue their good results in the competition and avenge their lost against Barcelona in the UCL final in 2011.
