Ajax vs Man City betting preview

Ajax:

In the Champions League thus so far Ajax find themselves at the bottom of the table, having been defeated on two occasions. On the face of it, although this seems like a tough position to be in it must be warned that Group D is perhaps one of the most difficult groups to be placed in, but many pundits would have and may still have expected Ajax to perhaps quality second, especially given their strong European record over the last 15 years.

The goal difference equation is not looking so good already for Ajax, and it’s very apparent that in the Champions League goal difference plays a significant part, so Ajax will have to bear this in mind. But also in Ajax’s defence it should be made aware that they were defeated against Real Madrid who are one of the favourites to win the Champions League. But nevertheless they also suffered a disappointing loss at the hands of Borussia. From both of the games, one issue Ajax obviously has is their goal scoring ability, they really should have done better against Borussia.

On a domestic level Ajax are fourth in the league after 9 games, but a notable statistic is that they have not yet been beaten thus so far so obviously they are very capable of turning out results in their favour, but it is also obvious that Ajax really do have to win their next couple of games in the Champions League to ensure that they qualify.

Manchester City:

After last year’s disappointing run in the Champions League, Manchester City hope that they should progress at least into the knockout stages, especially taking into account the strength of their squad and with no major injuries on the cards for their players. Additionally, the fans expect a lot from Man City and it’s clear that the manager is aware of this, evidentially it is clear that the style of play from City has changed tremendously, they look more willing to attack especially away from home.

Man City find themselves in a decent position, although they would be disappointed in the Real Madrid result, they should of won against Borussia, they had plenty of chances and at home they really should have done better.

If Ajax don’t find some form in Europe its arguable that the battle for second position will be between Manchester City and Borussia, Manchester City need to find a few wins but more importantly make sure they are defensively strong, they don’t want goal difference to play a significant part here because this group D is certainly shaping up to be a tight one.

Ajax v Manchester City:

This match between Ajax v Manchester City should be a good one for a number of reasons, both teams need to win otherwise they could easily fall behind on point in the group, one point only separates both teams and both teams are in the negative in terms of goal difference. Another interesting point to make is that you would say Manchester City is under more pressure to succeed, they have a lot of doubters in this tournament but Ajax are a very good side with a great reputation and Manchester City do not have a reputation in this tournament, so Man City certainly will go out to prove a point here and a win against Ajax would set them in contention to qualify and would set up an interesting last 3 games within the group. If you fancy a flutter, for a big return it could pay to look at Ajax to win, on the market they have some great odds on a victory for Ajax, but this perhaps also suggests that Ajax’s attacking force is not as scary as it once was.

Prediction:   Ajax 0- 2 Manchester City – Odds:  8/1 at Ladbrokes

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Article by Mani Basi

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