Borussia Dortmund vs Ajax
Borussia Dortmund host Ajax in the Champions League on Wednesday in a battle for Group C supremacy… but there is even more at stake for the Germans.
The two teams met just a fortnight ago when the Dutch side thrashed BVB 4-0, but the Dortmund vs Ajax betting odds suggest this game will be a nail-biter with very little to choose between them. Borussia’s pride was hurt by the humiliating loss which handed the top spot to Ajax after both teams had won their opening two fixtures.
So a home match, with the Yellow Wall set to create a hostile atmosphere, is the perfect chance for Borussia to exact revenge.
Talking Points
Haaland out for BVB
At 3.25 to win the group, Marco Rose’s side has a bit of work to do and a win on Wednesday is a must. But they will have to take on the Dutch without their star striker Erling Braut Haaland who is sidelined for a few weeks with a hip injury. The Bundesliga side is coping pretty well though; following the nightmare in Amsterdam, Borussia have won three games in a week, all by a two-goal margin. In the immediate aftermath of the loss to Ajax, they beat Arminia Bielefeld 3-1 before taking care of Ingolstadt in the Cup with a 2-0 win.
They had a rare chance to move top of the Bundesliga last weekend with a home game against Koln. As well as missing Haaland, strikers Gio Reyna and Raphael Guerreiro are both doubtful but Rose has a deep squad to choose from. Thorgan Hazard scored the opener against Koln and 22-year-old striker Steffen Tigges made it 2-0, but despite doing their bit BVB finished the weekend in second place behind Bayern Munich who thrashed Union Berlin 5-2.
Young England star Jude Bellingham is an exciting player to watch. He has made two assists in this competition and he scored a beautiful goal in the 3-1 win over Bielefeld, dribbling past three defenders before lifting his shot over the keeper.
Haller on fire for Ajax
The Dutch giants are backed to win Group C at odds of 1.30 and if they do, they will have the goals of Sebastian Haller to thank. The former West Ham striker has plundered six goals already and if Ajax go deep into the competition, his odds of 6.00 to end up as top scorer will start to look like good value.
The Ivorian star struggled for form at West Ham, scoring just ten goals in two seasons after a big-money move from Eintracht Frankfurt. He had scored 24 goals in 60 games for Eintracht which persuaded the Hammers to shell out a club-record fee, but the £40m price tag seemed to weigh heavy on Haller’s shoulders. Despite showing glimpses of his undoubted talent West Ham cut their losses and offloaded him to Ajax, and he has found his scoring boots once again. He’s scored 17 goals in 28 appearances and scored twice in each half in Ajax’s 5-1 win over Sporting to become the first player to score four on his Champions League debut since Marco van Basten for Milan back in 1992.
This Ajax side has plenty of experience, led by attacking midfielder Dusan Tadic and with former Manchester United man Daley Blind in defence and Argentine full-back Nicolas Tagliafico adding more class to the group. They have conceded just two goals in ten games but the Dutch giants are blowing hot and cold. They followed their 4-0 win over BVB with a 5-0 hammering of PSV Eindhoven but then drew a blank in a goalless draw away to Almelo. And a 1-0 defeat at home to Utrecht earlier in the month allowed the chasing pack to close the gap at the top, but Ajax still lead the Dutch Eredivisie table with 26 points from 11 games, two points clear of PSV.
History
BVB have won three of the four previous encounters, but of course, they lost the last meeting, just two weeks ago, in spectacular style. It was one of the stand out Champions League 2021 results of the competition so far, as Marco Reus scored an own goal to open the floodgates with Blind, Haller and Antony all cashing in for Ajax.
In terms of recent form, Ajax are unbeaten in four, while Dortmund are on a three-match winning streak and have won seven games on the run at the Signal Iduna Park.
Betting Tip
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Borussia Dortmund vs Ajax | Borussia Dortmund Asian Handicap 0.00 @ 1.89 |
| November 04, 04:00 (GMT+8) |
The SBOTOP Football number crunchers have worked hard to pick a winner here and there’s little to choose between the two teams. The Bundesliga giants are marginal favourites, courtesy of home advantage, at a price of 2.42, while Ajax are available at 2.61 and the draw is at 3.65.
I agree that the Germans will have the edge, roared on by a passionate crowd and with a revenge mission to focus on.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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