Dutch champions Ajax face a decisive clash on Wednesday, they face Cypriot side APOEL in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League Playoffs at Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam and they don't have any advantage to defend after the first leg. Last week the Dutch champions were unable to get more than a goalless draw in Nicosia, the second consecutive draw for Ajax at APOEL. In fact, there have been three direct matches so far between these two teams and Ajax only managed to win at home, 4-0 in the UEFA Champions League group stage in 2014.
Ajax are still undefeated this season and they have already grabbed some silverware after beating PSV Eindhoven 2-0 in the Dutch Super Cup. They have also won two of their three matches in the Eredivisie so far, but in the Champions League they have struggled to get past Greek champions PAOK in the previous round and were unable to dominate APOEL in the first leg of the playoffs. Ajax have reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League last season, so going out before the group stage would be a huge underachievement for the Dutch side. Moroccan defender Noussair Mazraoui was sent off in that match and will be suspended for the second leg.
APOEL have been known to cause a few upsets in European football in recent years, and this season they have already gone through two qualifying rounds before getting to the playoffs. Their main disadvantage is that the domestic season has not started yet, so the players don't have too many competitive matches in their legs ahead of this decisive clash. German head coach Thomas Doll is hoping to get APOEL Nicosia back to the group stages of the Champions League for the first time since the 2017/18 season.
Probable line-ups:
Ajax: Onana - Veltman, Schuurs, Martinez, Tagliafico - Blind, Marin - Ziyech, van de Beek, Neres - Tadic
APOEL: Belec - Merkis, Ioannou, Lafrance - Al-Taamari, Matic, Gentsoglou, Mihajlovic - Bezjak, De Vincenti - Pavlovic
My prediction:
APOEL have a sturdy defence, they kept clean sheets in four of their last five matches, but they were unable to score in seven of their last ten away matches in the Champions League. That said, I believe Ajax will have a rather difficult match, but they should be able to win it 2-0.
Here are the odds for this match at NetBet:
Ajax win - 1.18
Draw - 7.00
APOEL win - 13.00
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