Champions League: Match preview, Liverpool VS AFC Ajax: Prediction, Probable lineup, Key stats, and Head-to-head
Liverpool will go to Amsterdam tonight to face AFC Ajax in a Champions League quarterfinal matchup
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After consecutive triumphs against Rangers, Jurgen Klopp's team has now won three successive Group A matches, giving them a six-point lead over Ajax heading into the group's penultimate fixture.
Liverpool needs just one point against Ajax to advance to the knockout phase of the Champions League.
With a six-point advantage over Wednesday's opponents, Jurgen Klopp's team will be confident of completing the task but will likely need a win to maintain hopes of ending in the first place, as Napoli is now in the lead by three points.
Liverpool is now eighth in the Premier League table and has mostly fallen short of expectations thus far this season.
The previous week, the Merseyside giants suffered a shocking 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest and cannot afford another disaster this week.
On the other hand, Ajax is now atop the Eredivisie standings and has found its stride on the domestic front. The host team defeated RKC Waalwijk by a score of 4-1 over the weekend and will confidently enter this contest.
Regarding head-to-head statistics, the two teams have met five times, with Liverpool claiming three victories and Ajax claiming one. In comparison, one game has ended in a tie.
Key stats for the game
- Liverpool has scored two or more goals in 14 of their last 17 UEFA Champions League encounters.
- Ajax has lost three consecutive Champions League games. At the same time, Liverpool has won their last three Champions League matches.
- Ajax has allowed at least two goals in their last three Champions League encounters.
Liverpool predicted lineup
Darwin Nunez and Ibrahima Konate are back and will probably join Thiago in the starting lineup if declared fit. Ibrahima Konate may replace Joe Gomez opposite Virgil van Dijk, depending on the severity of his recent strain.
Naby Keita has returned to first-team training but is unlikely to participate today. At the same time, Joel Matip is still slated to miss the match, and Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, and Arthur Melo are all out for an extended period.
Probable lineup: Alisson, Elliott, Firmino, Nunez, Salah, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, and Thiago.
Ajax predicted lineup
Mohammed Kudus, who has started all four Champions League games thus far and scored at Anfield, has been on the bench for Ajax's previous two league games, in which Brian Brobbey has scored a brace in both.
Due to injuries, Ajax will play without Ahmetcan Kaplan, Devyne Rensch, and Mohamed Ihattaren, and midfielder Kenneth Taylor is questionable with a muscular strain.
Probable lineup: Pasveer, Tadic, Kudus, Bergwijn, Sanchez, Timber, Bassey, Blind, Klaassen, Alvarez, and Berghuis.
AFC Ajax vs Liverpool prediction
Ajax is in first place in the Eredivisie, but they just allowed ten goals in two games against Napoli, while Liverpool's recent loss to Forest extinguished any optimism.
Final prediction: AFC Ajax 1-2 Liverpool F.C.
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