Mourinho: Ajax able to "bite" Real in Champions League

Real Madrid will take on Ajax with its best possible team, coach Jose Mourinho said during a well-attended press conference in Amsterdam.

Already assured of a place in the last 16 of the Champions League, Real will look to secure top spot in Group G by gaining points on Tuesday.

"We want to win and continue our so far successful story in the Champions League," Mourinho said. "We want to go for the first place. I have confidence we will have a good team tomorrow."

According to Mourinho, it is not a problem for Real that his team will play Barcelona in the Spanish league next week.

"It is a problem that many players play with their national teams," Mourinho continued. "I repeat that I will only make a few changes for tomorrow. I am building a team and therefore you need stability. We are in the form to win or to get a draw at least. If we lose, it's because Ajax is in top form."

Mourinho left out injured Sami Khedira, Ricardo Carvalho and Gonzalo Higuain for the match in Amsterdam. The trio are carrying injuries and with "El Clasico" at Camp Nou coming up he decided not to take risks with them. Star player Cristiano Ronaldo is part of the squad.

Ajax's star player Luis Suarez will also be present on Tuesday. The Uruguayan was suspended for two league matches by Ajax for biting opponent Otman Bakkal during last Saturday's clash against PSV.

"These kind of things happen in football," Mourinho said of the Suarez incident. "He normally is a good and disciplined player, but now he made a small mistake. Yes, I consider Ajax able to 'bite' Real. Ajax will go for it and we must resist them."

Earlier on Monday, Ajax coach Martin Jol made it clear that he expects Real Madrid to play at full strength. His team needs points to stay in contention for the top two places or to keep the third place, which will lead them to the Europa League.

"Ajax have two targets left now. We desperately want to play European football after the winter break, but we also want to finish as high as possible in this group," Jol said.

"We always start the match with the intention to get three points. I expect Jose Mourinho to be eager to win the remaining two matches of the group stage as well," Jol continued. "Mourinho is a great coach and he always lets the big players play in these kind of games."

Source: Xinhua