Liverpool will lock horns with AFC Ajax at the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Wednesday night with both teams looking to kick off their UEFA Champions League campaign with all three points in the bag. The Reds were left frustrated after being held to a 2-2 draw versus Everton in the Merseyside derby last weekend. In contrast, the Dutch giants secured an emphatic 5-1 win over Heerenveen on Sunday which will keep them in high spirits heading into this midweek showdown in Amsterdam.
Talking Tactics
Erik ten Hag will opt for a 4-3-3 formation and is expected to name his strongest side for this upcoming contest versus the Premier League champions. The Ajax boss’ game plan would be to keep a good defensive shape and try exploiting the opposition’s weaknesses on the counter.
Jurgen Klopp will probably stick with his favoured 4-3-3 formation and will be forced to make a few tweaks to his first-team for this clash on the road. The German head coach will once again instruct his players to keep a high line and press from the front so that they can win the ball back high up the field and create some clear-cut chances to score.
Team News
Ajax
Ten Hag should have a fully-fit squad of players to choose from heading into this midweek encounter versus the Reds.
Ajax Predicted XI
Andre Onana, Noussair Mazraoui, Perr Schuurs, Daley Blind, Nicolas Tagliafico, Ryan Gravenberch, Davy Klaassen, Mohammed Kudus, David Neres, Dusan Tadic, Quincy Promes
Liverpool
Joe Gomez and Curtis Jones could start for the Reds in the injury absence of Virgil Van Dijk and Thiago Alcantara while Liverpool could look to rest their captain Jordan Henderson on the bench.
Liverpool Predicted XI
Adrian, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Joe Gomez, Andrew Robertson, Curtis Jones, Fabinho, Georginio Wijnaldum, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane
Key Men
Ajax
We can expect most of Ajax’s creativity to come through Dusan Tadic, who has been a real revelation during his time at Amsterdam. Both David Neres and Quincy Promes needs to work hard towards exposing Liverpool’s high line by making some well-timed runs in behind their defence on the break.
Liverpool
Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are both enjoying a rich vein of form, so they will be quietly confident about their chances of finding the back of the net. Both Joe Gomez and Joel Matip will have to produce a commanding performance collectively if the Reds are to come away with maximum points from the Johan Cruijff ArenA.
Odds
The Merseyside giants are the clear favourites heading into this midweek clash after being priced at 11/17. The draw has been listed at 29/10 while Ajax are 15/4 underdogs to secure a positive result on Wednesday night.
