Ajax are facing a historic opportunity on Wednesday evening, when they host Tottenham at Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam, they can reach the final of the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1996. Their 1-0 first-leg victory in London does give them the upper hand, 22-year-old Donny van de Beek scored that decisive goal. Before last week's match, the two teams had met in just one previous European tie, in the 1981-1982 edition of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. Tottenham were stronger than Ajax at that time, they won 3-1 in Holland and 3-0 in England but then lost in the semi-finals against Barcelona. Overall, Tottenham have won 9 of their 18 matches against Dutch teams in European competitions, while Ajax just 8 of their 23 games against English teams.
Ajax are having a sensational season, they haven't been this successful in Europe since the days of Patrick Kluivert and Louis van Gaal. In fact, their last Champions League final was in 1996, when they lost 1-0 to AC Milan. Since then, Ajax did manage to qualify for the UEFA Europa League final in 2017 but lost 2-0 to Manchester United in the final. Now they are on a ten-game unbeaten streak in all competitions and they have won nine of those ten matches. Last weekend they hammered Willem II 4-0 in the Dutch Cup final, claiming their first trophy of the season. Carel Eiting remains the only injury concern for the home side.
Tottenham are going through a very dark period, they have lost five of their last six matches in all competitions and nearly dropped out of the top four in the Premier League table. Luckily for the Spurs, Arsenal and Manchester United were unable to take advantage of their 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth at the weekend, so Mauricio Pochettino and his man were able to breathe a sigh of relief and focus on Wednesday's clash in Amsterdam. However, there isn't much hope for Tottenham considering their latest performances, they have scored just one goal in their last five matches and that was against relegation-threatened Brighton. Serge Aurier, Harry Kane and Harry Winks remain sidelined for the Spurs, but Son Heung-Min is available again after having served his suspension.
Probable line-ups:
Ajax: Onana - Veltman, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico - Schone, De Jong, Van de Beek - Ziyech, Tadic, Neres
Tottenham: Lloris - Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose - Sissoko, Wanyama, Eriksen - Alli - Son, Moura
My prediction: 1-1 draw, Tottenham will fight hard for this chance but Ajax can't throw away their first-leg advantage.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Ajax win - 2.15
Draw - 3.70
Tottenham win - 3.40
Your feedback
Please enter your comment.
Your comment is added.
