REAL MADRID vs. AJAX- PREVIEW AND BETTING PREDICTIONS

Real Madrid take on Ajax in tonight’s Group G opener, in probably one of the most evenly matched contests of the lot.
With the majority of tonight's clashes being one-sided affairs, this game should be a lot closer than the bookies suggest.
Ajax were hugely impressive in qualification with an attacking front line that would have made most European giants sit up and take notice.
While Real Madrid boast arguably one of the most talented line ups in club football, Ajax are hardly the whipping boys of Europe, and tonight will be seen as an ideal opportunity in which to showcase their overall talent on the European stage.
Ajax will however be missing the services of striker Luis Suarez who has insisted that the Eredivisie giants can beat Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. The Uruguayan hitman, who has scored 108 times in 143 appearances for Ajax in all competitions, is suspended for the Group G curtain raiser.
Betfair is the pick with regards to an all-out result- putting Real Madrid as dead on favourites at 1.31, to Ajax's 13.5
When one takes into account that Ajax currently share the lead of the Eredevisie, and haven't lost on the road in European action since Martin Jol took over at the helm last year, a draw is by no means a wild card entry at 5.9.
The sheer occasion marking tonight's kick-off is clear with Real manager Jose Mourinho labelling the clash as a showdown between "two teams with long histories of success and tradition."
Some shine has been taken off the line up's in that Garay, Albiol, Kaka and Gago are all unavailable due to injury.
On the goalscorer front- Ronaldo is odds on favourite to open at 3.5, with a solid 1.57 to score at any time in the game. Argentinian Gonzalo Higuain is close up on 1.61, with outsider Xabi Alonso at an enticing 4.5.
One would assume that the current Ajax set up will certainly trouble the Real defence tonight, and as such Mounir El Hamdaoui is favoured at 4.5, with Egyptian powerhouse Mido at a favourable 6.0
Mourinho and Jol's teams have met on seven previous occasions leading up to this clash- all of which took place in the managers' Premier League heydays.
While the Madridista boss has held the upper hand, having won five and lost just one of those encounters, yesterday's Champions league openers would have served to underline the unpredictability evident in a competition such as the Champions League
To the true football fan this is probably the pick of tonight match-ups, with Real heavily favoured to produce on the back of eccentric, yet unparalleled manager Mourinho. However, Jol is a man that would love to turn the tables and mix things up...
This could turn out to be a real thriller