Two big names meet in Group D of the Champions League. Ajax Amsterdam and Liverpool have won the premier class and the European championship ten times. That is the concentrated competence in the greatest possible European competition. There is currently a bigger gap between the two teams.
Ajax will likely have to struggle to finish at least third in this pool with Atalanta Bergamo and Midtjylland. The English champions from Anfield Road, however, are the clear favorites to win the group in this round. However, this initial situation is not quite as clear in the odds comparison of the betting base.
Liverpool have been unbeaten in 13 international games against teams from the Dutch Eredivisie. The last defeat was against Ajax, of all places, in December 1966. At least that doesn’t sound like a prediction of a home win in the match between Ajax Amsterdam and Liverpool.
The Dutch, on the other hand, have had big problems against English clubs in recent years and won only one of the last six duels, namely in the semi-finals of the premier class against Tottenham Hotspurs in 2019, which should not be enough to reach the finals in the end. The bottom line is that the first statistics in the match between Ajax Amsterdam and Liverpool suggest that the Reds will win.
Ajax Amsterdam:
It’s always the same game. Before this season, Ajax Amsterdam lost again three top performers with Donny van de Beek, Serginho Dest and Hakim Ziyech. It is now up to coach Erik ten Hag to close these gaps with young and hungry players from the legendary Ajax Academy.
In the national league it is already working very well this year. After five match days, the champions are in second place in the Eredivisie table with twelve points. So the current form is appropriate. However, the Dutch are too often found to be too easy in the premier class. At home there was only one win in the last seven games in the Champions League.
The next attempt will be made on Wednesday and the dress rehearsal has shown that Erik ten Hag’s team is in good shape. Last weekend Heerenveen was shot 5-1 out of the stadium. Dusan Tadic laid the foundation for victory with a brace.
Personally, things could hardly look better at the Dutch champions. Before kick-off, it seems as if Erik ten Hag can draw on the full. The hospital has been swept completely empty.
Expected formation of Ajax Amsterdam:
Onana – Tagliafico, Blind, Schuurs, Mazraoui – Klaasen, Gravenberch – Tadic, Kudus, Neres – Traore – Trainer: ten Hag
Liverpool:
Under Jürgen Klopp there have not been three defeats in a row in the Champions League for the Reds. With a bankruptcy on Wednesday, however, the LFC would lose three times in a row in the premier class for the first time since 2014, at the time under Brendan Rodgers. From the point of view of the English master, things shouldn’t get that far.
However, it is currently showing that the mentality monster from Anfield Road is quite vulnerable. There are currently three games without a win. This is almost a mini-crisis for Liverpool, especially since there was a 2-7 package at Aston Villa. Nevertheless, in the duel between Ajax Amsterdam and Liverpool there is more for a forecast on the guests.
Last weekend, the Reds showed their hearts when it came to points at the Merseyside Derby in Everton. Sadio Mane and Mo Salah brought Liverpool forward twice, but in the end it was enough in a high-class game only to a 2-2 draw because the alleged winner by Henderson in stoppage time was denied by the VAR.
It is particularly bitter that Virgil van Dijk, the next seriously injured player, will now be missing in the long term. Probably the best central defender in the world, like Alisson Becker, will be out for several weeks. With Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and possibly also Naby Keita, other top-class players are missing from the Reds’ squad on Wednesday.
Expected formation of Liverpool:
Adrian – Robertson, Gomez, Matip, Alexander-Arnold – Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago – Mane, Salah, Roberto Firmino – Trainer: Klopp
