Ajax to squeak through against Ligue 1 leaders
Early Thursday evening sees the second leg of an intriguing tie between Eredivisie leaders Ajax Amsterdam take on shock Ligue 1 pacesetters Lille. The French visitors were set to take a priceless advantage to the Dutch capital until the dying minutes when the 2019 semi-finalists mounted a stunning comeback to become favourites to qualify for the next round. De Godenzonen are on a 10-game winning streak, and whilst their opponents are similarly strong in 2020/2021, they should edge this match on aggregate. Read our preview here:
An early Gravenberch
Head coach Erik ten Hag utilised a 4-2-3-1 in the away leg, but is set to revert to the tried-and-tested classic 4-3-3 at the Johan Cruijff Arena. As ever, the academy at the club is proving to be very fruitful indeed, and its importance to the ethos as a whole has been maintained for decades, arguably increasing as the world of football finance skews ever more to certain leagues. Missing out on the first clash with Thursday's opponents, 18 year old Ryan Gravenberch is set to return as the left-sided central midfielder in the three. Having already clocked up 40 senior level appearances, the U-21 international is quickly becoming a mainstay for the first team, possessing an excellent all-round passing game in addition to his height, which has at times seen him take on a more defensive minded role in order to sweep up any long balls played forward to a target man. He will be tasked with bringing play with him to support the attacking trio, particularly Brazilian Antony, who'll be operating on his weaker side for the vast majority of the game.
Yazıcı's more than Yus-ful
One of the major success stories under Christophe Galtier this term has been Turkish striker Yusuf Yazıcı. The former Trabzonspor frontman endured an awful first season in Ligue 1, scoring just once in all competitions despite appearing 25 times. However, much like most of the squad, he has raised his performance levels considerably in 2020/2021, and has bagged six in seven Europa League matches. His attributes allow him to play a wider or even a withdrawn attacking midfield role, and if he can work on his overall discipline, he could be the latest to leave the club in the summer for a substantial profit on the €17.5 million they paid for his services. A 4-4-2 formation will be maintained, with the primary aim being to remain defensively solid for the early exchanges and hopefully grab a goal on the break or from a set piece.
One Cruijff turn deserves another
The reality for Lille is that they need to score two more than their hosts to avoid an early exit in the competition; failing that, they could go the long route via extra time and/or penalties by inflicting the same scoreline as Ajax did to them only last week. It's a tall order, even for the best team in France at the time of writing. There's more than sufficient quality in the forward line donned in the famous white and red kit to trouble the scoresheet at least once. betway are offering odds of 5.00 for Ajax to win the second leg and for both teams to score.
