Benfica v Ajax live stream, BT Sport, Wednesday 23 February, 8pm GMT
Ajax will be looking to establish a first-leg lead when they take on Benfica in the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday.
Erik ten Hag's side were the revelations of the group stage, amassing maximum points from their six meetings with Borussia Dortmund, Sporting CP and Besiktas. Five of their six victorious came by a two-goal margin or more, evidencing Ajax's dominance of the group. Ten Hag took the Dutch giants to the semi-finals three years ago and he could repeat the trick this term.
Ajax will certainly hold no fear in the knockout stage. They have opened up a healthy five-point lead at the top of the Eredivisie, which gives them a little breathing space as the business end of the campaign approaches.
Remarkably, Ajax have conceded only five goals in 23 league games this season. It is that defensive solidity as much as the more eye-catching attacking talent that will stand them in good stead in the Champions League.
Benfica squeezed into the last 16 at the expense of Barcelona, who could only manage a third-place finish behind the Portuguese outfit and Bayern Munich. Nelson Verissimo's side have won only two of their last six matches in all competitions, though, while their Primeira Liga title hopes are hanging by a thread: the Eagles are now 12 points behind Porto at the summit of the standings.
Verissimo, who is in caretaker charge following Jorge Jesus' departure shortly after Christmas, will have to make do without Haris Seferovic, Rodrigo Pinho and Lucas Verissimo here. Julian Weigl, Nicolas Otamendi, Joao Mario, Rafa Silva and Alex Grimaldo are all one booking away from missing the second leg through suspension.
Jurrien Timber picked up a knock as Ajax beat Willem II on Saturday, but he could be passed fit in time for this match. Brian Brobbey and Maarten Stekelenburg are still on the treatment table.
Kick-off is at 8pm GMT and the game is being shown live on BT Sport 3 in the UK.
Subscribe to FourFourTwo today and save over a third on standard price.
Use a VPN to watch a Benfica v Ajax live stream from outside your country
If you’re on holiday or just simply out of the country, your domestic on-demand services won’t work – the broadcaster knows exactly where you are from your IP address. Your access to the game will be automatically blocked, which is annoying if you’ve paid a subscription fee and don't want to use an illegal stream that decides to buffer at the worst possible moment. And that's where we recommend ExpressVPN (more on which below).
All you need to do is get a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to get beyond such aggravations (assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs). A VPN creates a private connection between your device and the internet, meaning suppliers can’t work out where you are and what you’re doing. The info going to and from is entirely encrypted.
There are plenty of options out there, including:
