Ajax coach Ronald Koeman should be able to start with almost his strongest line-up when the Dutch champions face AC Milan in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tonight.
Koeman has taken the pressure off his young side by stating he does not expect them to win the Champions League, but they will certainly give Milan a run for their money over the two legs.
The two clubs have met in two European Cup finals - Milan winning 4-1 in 1969 and Ajax 1-0 in 1995 - but it is hard to see the overall winner emerging from this quarter-final.
The Dutch side had a comfortable weekend beating lowly RBC Roosendaal 4-1 in Amsterdam to stay a point clear of Feyenoord in second place in the Dutch championship race, while Milan approach the match knowing the Serie A title is slipping out of their grasp.
Despite beating Juventus 2-1 last month, they now trail the league leaders by eight points and their hopes of winning the Scudetto were dealt another blow by a 1-0 defeat at Parma at the weekend.
It will be Ajax's first Champions League quarter-final since 1997, when they beat Atletico Madrid 4-3 on aggregate.
Koeman, who has been short of forwards because of injuries, had good news yesterday when Jari Litmanen was declared fit enough to start on the bench.
The Finn who has been out since mid-December with an Achilles injury, has trained twice with the first team though he has not played a reserve match.
"Jari confirmed that he would be able to play for 20 or 25 minutes" Koeman said. "So for me that was enough to put him on the bench for tomorrow's match . . . I might need him against Milan."
Litmanen's inclusion means 20-year-old Moroccan Jamal Akachar will probably have to wait for his Champions League debut.
Milan could be without striker Inzaghi who has flu. Should he fail to recover, Danish international Jon Dahl Tomasson is ready to line up alongside Shevchenko in attack.
Behind them, Portuguese playmaker Rui Costa is expected to move to the right of midfield, as Ancelotti returns to the 4-4-2 formation he used to beat Juventus.
Alessandro Costacurta takes the place of injured defender Kakha Kaladze in a match that promises plenty of goalmouth action.
AJAX AMSTERDAM (probable): Lobont; Trabelsi, Chivu, Pasanen, O'Brien; de Jong, Galasek, Pienaar, Maxwell; Van der Vaart, Ibrahimovic.
AC MILAN (probable): Dida; Simic, Nesta, Maldini, Costacurta; Rui Costa, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Seedorf; Inzaghi, Shevchenk Referee: Terje Hauge (Norway)
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