Take Two of the Champions League Group of Death will be on view Wednesday when Real Madrid visit Ajax and Manchester City host Borussia Dortmund.
The first round spoils were taken by Real Madrid and Dortmund with wins over Manchester City and Ajax respectively -- Real's dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 win over City the highlight of Matchday One.
Real are pretty familiar with Ajax now, having met them in the last two Champions League seasons, and the Spanish giants hold the upperhand at the Amsterdam Arena with a 4-0 win in 2010-11 and a 3-0 victory last year. However, Jose Mourinho does not believe Frank de Boer's side will be easy to tackle this season.
"I think Ajax will present us with a completely different match compared with earlier seasons," the Portuguese manager said. "They have worked with Frank for another season and they are now more used to the level of the Champions League.
"I think they can sometimes lose some of the Ajax qualities that can make them compete at another level. (Christian) Poulsen, for example, isn't really a player for the Ajax philosophy, but he fits into what Frank is trying to do in the Champions League.
"I prefer to look at Ajax as a team, they're much more important as a team than as individuals. We will try to be prepared to face their team. They know they're in the group considered by everyone as the toughest one because you have four champions from four countries, which is unique."
"I think there's enough motivation and if you ask my players I'm sure they will all say they are looking forward to playing this match. I have the ambition to win - it has always been like that in my career and always will be. I will prepare as always - as if it is my last match."
Real, who will have Michael Essien back from injury, will be buoyed by a comfortable victory over Deportivo at the weekend, where Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick, and the Portuguese superstar will again be the cynosure in Wednesday's game.
Ajax, who lost to Dortmund 1-0 in the opening group game, will look to cut out the mistakes, with De Boer confident they are meeting Real at the right time. "You always hope that you progress through the years and this is the third successive season we have met Madrid -- let's hope that this time we can get on the right side of the scoreline," he said.
"Last year, as now, we had a good team and we had opportunities at the Bernabéu and here. If we play as a team we can make it difficult for any opponent.
"I'm convinced that the Champions League is very important for Madrid. Last year they won the Liga title and this time they want to win the Champions League. Top players are always at their best when they are needed most, and Madrid have a lot of them.
"That said, I think this is a good time for Ajax to face Real Madrid as they have had difficulties in recent matches."
The other match of Group D will see English Premier League winners City take on German champions Dortmund. Roberto Mancini's side will be desperate to pick up their first points of this year's Champions League, but know Dortmund are a very dangerous side. City have no major injury worries, with Jack Rodwell back in contention after missing the game at the weekend.
"The Champions League is a different competition but the football is the same and it's still 11 versus 11," Mancini said. "The problem is you're always playing against other countries' best teams, which means it's always difficult.
"I hope I can improve my record in the Champions League and I think we are capable of winning it, but we're in a tough group again. We've got five games left and we can progress.
"You can't win the Bundesliga without being a strong team and Dortmund have won the last two. They have young players and a fantastic manager, so it's going to be a great game. They've been beating Bayern for the past two years and that's why I think they're one of best teams in Europe.
"With attacking players like (Marco) Reus, Robert (Lewandowski) and (Mario) Gotze, we'll need to do a very good job, restrict their space and avoid making life hard for ourselves."
Expected line-ups: Ajax: Vermeer, Van Rhijn, Alderweireld, Moisander, Blind, De Jong, Poulsen, Eriksen, Sana, Babel, Sulejmani.
Real Madrid: Casillas, Ramos, Albiol, Pepe, Marcelo, Khedira, Alonso; Di María, Ozil, Ronaldo; Benzema.
Expected line-ups: Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Nastasic, Kompany, Clichy, Barry, Garcia, Toure, Silva, Aguero, Tevez.
Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller, Piszczek, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer, Gundogan, Kehl; Błaszczykowski, Gotze, Reus, Lewandowski.
Other fixtures: Group A: Porto vs PSG; Dynamo Kyiv vs Dinamo Zagreb. Group B: Arsenal vs Olympakos; Schalke vs Montpellier. Group C: Andelecht vs Malaga; Zenit vs Milan.
