UEFA Champions League: Ajax vs. Liverpool Preview, Odds, Prediction

Ajax and Liverpool are in a problematic situation before their matchup in the UEFA Champions League Group A matchup. The hosts need this victory, and even then, the second spot will be out of reach for the Lancers. They would need to beat the Reds by at least a two-goal margin on Wednesday, and then see the English unit lose in the final round to have any chances of progressing to the knockout stage. As for the Reds, we haven’t seen them this bad since Jurgen Klopp took over this team. A loss to Nottingham Forest on Saturday proves our claim.

Preview

Ajax (+320) regained a bit of its confidence following a catastrophe against Napoli in their back-to-back meetings. The Dutch champs beat Excelsior at first, 7-1, and then Waalwijk this weekend, 1-4. We are aware that these teams aren’t very strong, but such high wins are always welcome.

The Lancers will have Dusan Tadic back in the lineup. The Serbian playmaker was sent off against Napoli in the first meeting in Amsterdam, and he missed the one in Italy. Tadic is a crucial player for Ajax, and this team isn’t the same without him on the pitch.

Ajax’s games are more than efficient, and the past five were with both teams netting and with at least five goals. That’s right, you’ve read it well, all of them were with five or more goals.

Liverpool (-125) snapped its three-game winning streak with a minimal loss in Nottingham, 1-0. This frustrating loss erased a victory over Manchester City from the previous Sunday and brought the Reds back to ground zero when talking about their title race.

There is one very interesting fact here. The loss against Forest was Liverpool’s third event in a row with exactly one goal. Something is happening with the Reds, and we don’t know what it is.

Liverpool’s results on the road are terrible this year, and they have only one win in seven road trips. Other than that, Klopp’s crew posted two draws and four defeats. Five of these contests were with three or more hits and with both teams scoring.

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Taylor, Kaplan, and Ihttaren are out for the hosts, but these guys don’t have some notable impact on Ajax’s game.

Liverpool has a hospital in its locker room. Jota, Nunez, Thiago, and Arthur are all questionable, the same as Konate, Diaz, and Matip. We are not sure what Klopp will do. The German will rest some of these guys, that’s for sure.

Head to Head Games

Liverpool was better in the opening leg at Anfield, 2-1. Salah opened the show in the 17th minute, but Kudus leveled the score 10 minutes later. Liverpool saved its skin one minute before the end of the regular 90 minutes when Joel Matip set the stadium on fire.

Prediction

The guests have a lot of issues with injuries, and Ajax has to try to utilize that. Having in mind that the hosts have no other option but to attack right from the start because they need a win, this game should bring at least three goals. The odds on that are -195.

Pick: Over 2.5 goals -195

Here are more UEFA Champions League previews: 

• RB Leipzig vs. Real Madrid
• Barcelona vs. Bayern Munich
• Borussia Dortmund vs. Manchester City
• Benfica vs. Juventus