Ajax and Valencia fight for their survival in this season's UEFA Champions League when they meet at Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam on Tuesday evening. The reverse fixture was won quite clearly by Ajax, they triumphed 3-0 in Valencia with goals from Hakim Ziyech, Quincy Promes and Donny van de Beek. That was the first victory for Ajax over Valencia after two draws recorded in the 2002-2003 season. Valencia have won just one of their six away matches against Dutch sides in Europe, while Ajax have won 9 of their 19 home matches against Spanish sides.
Ajax are leading the table in Group H ahead of the last round of matches, but they can still finish outside the qualification places if they lose against Valencia. Ajax have a two-point advantage over Valencia and Chelsea ahead of this match, so a draw would be enough for them to secure qualification. Last time out Ajax won 2-0 at last-placed Lille, a mandatory win for them after the spectacular 4-4 draw at Chelsea. Last week Ajax lost 2-0 at home against Willem II in the Dutch league, their first league defeat of the season. David Neres is sidelined for this match, while Quincy Promes and Zakaria Labyad are injury doubts.
Valencia have lost just one of their five group matches so far, and that was the reverse fixture against Ajax. Last time out they secured a 2-2 draw at home against Chelsea, a result that gives them the upper hand against the Blues after having won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge at the start of the campaign. Last weekend Valencia won 4-2 at Levante, their second consecutive victory in LaLiga. Ezequiel Garay is suspended for this match, while Lee Kang-In, Cristiano Piccini and Goncalo Guedes are out injured. First-choice goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen picked up an injury during last weekend's league match and is a major doubt for Tuesday's game.
Probable line-ups:
Ajax: Onana - Mazraoui, Veltman, Blind, Tagliafico - Martinez, Alvarez - Ziyech, van de Beek, Tadic - Huntelaar
Valencia: Domenech - Wass, Paulista, Diakhaby, Gaya - Paul, Soler, Coquelin, Parejo, Torres - Gameiro
My prediction:
Ajax can't miss this chance to advance to the next round, they should be able to win this match 2-1.
Here are the odds for the match at NetBet:
Ajax win - 1.63
Draw - 4.50
Valencia win - 4.85