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Fenerbahce and Ajax Amsterdam square off in arguably the most anticipated Europa League clash of the day, but neither side is sitting too comfortably in Group A.
The hosts salvaged a draw in Glasgow last round after trailing 2-0 and with that result their chances of advancing were also saved – after previously losing at home to Molde. Despite making a lot of investments in the offseason, Fenerbahce is not clicking this season, looking leaky at the back but also often struggling to create chances. Fener is third in the Turkish Superliga and coming after a 1-0 win against Kasimpasa.
Ajax managed to defeat Heracles 2-0 over the weekend, ending a two match winless streak, including a 1-2 home defeat to rivals PSG. Frank De Boer’s side finished both Europa League matches undecided, 2-2 at home with Celtic and 1-1 in Norway against Molde. Not exactly great results and, despite scraping decent results, Ajax is not playing too well. Surprisingly, they relied a lot on their defense, as all the 9 victories this season (all competitions) came with a clean sheet. Everytime Ajax allowed a goal, they failed to win.
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Team news & lineups:
Volkan Sen is out for Fenerbahce, while Nani and Bruno Alves are highlydoubtful. Ajax gets back Cillesen, but misses key striker Milik.
Fenerbahce: Fabiano, Ozbayrakli, Kaldirim, Kjaer, Ba, Topal, Souza, Diego, Markovic, Fernandao, Van Persie
Ajax: Cillessen, Van Rhijn, Dijks, Veltman, Riedewald, Bazoer, Gudelj, Klaassen, Fischer, Schone, El Ghazi
Listen, both sides have excellent talent up front, particularly Fenerbahce and generally play an attack oriented brand of football. They also scored and allowed a fair number of goals in this group, as Fener is boosting a 5-3 goal difference, while Ajax has a 3-3 goalscoring stat. However, in this case the circumstances are working against the stats. This is a key clash which nobody affords to lose and I expect the two teams to more or less nullify each other. Additionally, Ajax has been defending well this season – 10 clean sheets in 16 matches – and they know they have to be sharp at the back today if they are to stand a chance. Finally, the team news status with Milik and probably Nani out favors a low scoring clash.
This looks similar to Fenerbahce`s home match against Shakhtar in the Champions League playoffs, a match which finished 0-0. Expect a lot of caution, no risks and an “upset” on the under / over market. My tip is under 2,5 goals to be scored. Keeping the stakes reasonable though. Prediction: Fenerbahce – Ajax Amsterdam 1-0.
Pick: under 2,5 goals
Odds: 2.11 @ 1xBet
Stake: 6
Possible profit: 6.66
Event date: 22 October
