Europa League: Union Berlin vs. Ajax Preview, Odds, Prediction

We expected to see plenty of goals in the first leg of the game between Union Berlin and Ajax, yet that didn’t happen. A goalless draw at the Amsterdam Arena left all the options possible regarding this matchup, and for many, this is the most interesting game of the round. Ajax was the favorite to progress to the next before the opening 90 minutes, but the situation changed. According to the bookmakers, Union has the upper edge, but Ajax often beat the odds in the past.

Preview

Union Berlin (+120) didn’t lose in the past eight games, posting six victories in a row before back-to-back draws. The first was in Amsterdam against Ajax, and the following versus the worst team in the league, Schalke. It was this weekend at home, but the fans weren’t too upset about it.

Union had a chance to take over the top spot in Bundesliga, yet the head coach Urs Fischer decided to leave his best players on the bench and put in the reserves, all in order to beat Ajax. 

The Germans play tough and smart football, with lots of running and pressing in the midfield. For the moment, they are the biggest surprise in Bundesliga, and their games usually bring a solid number of goals. Both teams scoring is regular when Union plays, as well as seeing them netting at least twice.

Ajax (+220) has been a synonym for efficiency over several years. The Lancers play open and very attacking-minded football. They may not have the quality like in the past, but on the other hand, they still provide games with many goals. 

The Dutch powerhouse is without a loss for the last 12 events, but only recently did they begin winning on a regular basis. After a period of shaky performances, which saw them posting several draws, Ajax recorded five victories in six contests, with the only draw being against Union.

After that, Tadic and the crew bounced back to beat Sparta Rotterdam at home, 4-0, improving the morale and having one strong test before Thursday’s game, but not losing too much of its energy.

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Schafer is out for the hosts, and he won’t be playing against Ajax. Busk is questionable due to his illness. 

Ajax is coming to Berlin with all its players ready to play, and after a long time, the Lancers don’t have problems with injuries. 

Head to Head Games

Regarding the last week’s event, it was a goalless draw in which Union deserved to win. There hadn’t been too many teams that have outplayed Ajax in Amsterdam as Union did. The Lancers didn’t have a single shot on target, and we didn’t see that in a while. Ajax had the ball in its feet but couldn’t do anything meaningful in front of Union’s goal.

Prediction

The hosts will be cautious again, yet the game will have to open at some point. As soon as that happens, we expect goals. In our opinion, since this is a rematch, over 1.5 goals in the second half is the best pick. Both teams will be more open and aggressive in the latter 45 minutes because, in most cases, that is when everything solves.

Pick: Over 1.5 goals in the second half +120

Here are more previews for the UCL Round of 16:

• RB Leipzig vs. Manchester City
• Liverpool vs. Real Madrid
• Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Napoli
• Inter vs. Porto

Here are the previews for the Europa League games:

• Monaco v. Bayer Leverkusen
• Manchester United vs. Barcelona