Ajax will play hosts to Tottenham Hotspur at the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Wednesday night carrying a narrow 1-0 lead from the first leg. Avoiding defeat will be enough for the home side to clinch a place in the final of the UEFA Champions League. However, Mauricio Pochettino won’t give up without a fight so we can expect an entertaining affair between two promising teams in European football.
Spurs should lineup in a 4-3-1-2 formation while Ajax opts for a more traditional 4-2-3-1 set up for this midweek encounter.
Team News
Ajax
Both Hassane Bande and Carel Eiting will miss out on this game due to injury. Otherwise, Erik ten Hag should have a full squad to choose from ahead of this crucial second leg in midweek.
Tottenham Hotspur
Even though Heung-min Son got a red card against Bournemouth in the Premier League, it won’t apply in European competitions so the South Korean international will be expected to lead the lines alongside Lucas Moura on Wednesday’s match. Pochettino will also have his fingers crossed on Jan Vertonghen’s availability as he will be in a race against time to be fit for this clash.
Predicted Lineups
Ajax
Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, Schone, De Jong, Ziyech, Van de Beek, Neres, Tadic
Tottenham Hotspur
Lloris, Trippier, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Rose, Wanyama, Sissoko, Alli, Eriksen, Son, Lucas
Key Men
Ajax
Matthijs de Ligt will once again play an integral role in determining whether Ajax can secure a clean sheet on Wednesday night. David Neres and Dusan Tadic will be responsible for doing most of the damage up top. Neres went close to scoring on a couple of occasions in the first leg so his pace will cause a lot of problems for the Spurs defenders.
Tottenham Hotspur
Both Heung-min Son and Lucas Moura need to work together effectively in the attacking third of the pitch if Tottenham are to claim a win against Ajax in midweek. Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli will act as the playmakers as they try to create some goal-scoring openings going forward.
Odds
The bookies are giving Ajax a slight edge in this contest as they are priced at 6/5 to secure a victory in front of their home fans. A draw is priced at 14/5 which means that it could be a close contest at Amsterdam. Tottenham Hotspur are as big as 5/2 to come away with a win from the Johan Cruijff ArenA.
