Real Madrid host Ajax in the Champions League on Tuesday night (Image: GETTY)
Real Madrid boast a 2-1 advantage from the first leg of their round of 16 clash.
Goals from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio handed the Spanish side a crucial lead heading into the second leg at the Bernabeu on Tuesday.
Both Real and Ajax have their sights set on reaching the Champions League quarter-finals this season.
Yellow cards totals are reset from the quarter-finals onwards, meaning players could potentially be handed a suspension for the next round if they’ve been booked too many times.
And Ajax have a staggering six players who are one game away from a one-game suspension.
Matthijs de Ligt, Daley Blind, Nicolas Tagliafico, Donny van de Beek, Noussair Mazraoui and Hakim Ziyech could all be suspended for the next round if they’re booked against Real on Tuesday.
Real, however, boast a major advantage.
The Spanish giants don’t have a single player who is a yellow card away from a suspension.
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Ajax’s stars, in theory, cannot be as aggressive in challenges as they want to be with a possible suspension looming over them.
Real will be without Sergio Ramos for their clash with Ajax on Tuesday night.
The Spain international was suspended by UEFA for ‘clearly receiving a yellow card on purpose’ in Real’s first-leg win at Ajax.
Ramos hoped to serve a one-game suspension in tonight’s game before being handed a clean slate in the quarter-finals.
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Real Madrid don’t have a player who is a yellow card away from a suspension (Image: GETTY)
However, the defender will serve a two-game ban, meaning he will miss the first leg of the quarter-finals if Real progress.
Real come into the clash on the back of consecutive defeats against Barcelona.
The Spanish giants were dominated 4-1 on aggregate in the Copa del Rey before losing 1-0 in La Liga on Saturday evening.