On Wednesday night, we take to the field in Amsterdam as we look to overturn a first-leg deficit in our semi-final clash against Ajax and progress to the Champions League Final.
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A week ago, we were unable to find a way past the Dutch side in the home leg of the last four tie as Donny van de Beek’s strike on 15 minutes gave our visitors the advantage in N17.
Here’s everything you need to know about our opponents as we look to turn the tables at the Johan Cruyff Arena…
Team news
Ajax manager Erik ten Hag expects to have almost all of his squad available for the second leg, with only forward David Neres regarded as a doubt for the game.
One to watch
Midfielder Frenkie de Jong was at the centre of every move Ajax made in their victory in north London last Tuesday. A controlling presence in midfield, De Jong came through the youth academy at Willem II before moving to Amsterdam in 2015.
And, despite only being a 21-year-old, the Dutch international has made nearly a century of appearances for Wednesday’s hosts although, with a move to Barcelona already confirmed for this summer, it looks unlikely that the youngster will reach that milestone for his current side.
While on the international scene, since making his debut for the Netherlands in 2018, he has been an almost permanent fixture for his country, missing just a single game so far.
Ajax’s form
Our opponents ended their five-year spell without silverware over the weekend as they defeated Willem II 4-0 on Saturday in the KNVB Cup final.
Daley Blind opened the scoring for Ajax on 38 minutes before that was immediately doubled as, just 60 seconds later, Klass-Jan Huntelaar slotted in from close range.
The striker got his second of the game 22 minutes after the restart as he fired into an empty net and then, on 76 minutes, Rasmus Kristensen completed the victory, finishing off a fine team move with a strike from the edge of the box.
Previous meetings
30 April, 2019 – Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Ajax – UEFA Champions League semi-final, first leg
29 September, 1981 – Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Ajax – UEFA European Cup Winners’ Cup, first round, second leg
16 September, 1981 – Ajax 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur – UEFA European Cup Winners’ Cup, first round, first leg
Previous clash
A week ago on Tuesday, we stepped foot into our first ever UEFA Champions League semi-final but were unable to take the advantage on home turf as we suffered a 1-0 defeat to Ajax in north London.
On 15 minutes, Van de Beek was played in by Hakim Ziyech before placing the ball past Hugo Lloris to give our visitors the lead. In a game of few opportunities, Fernando Llorente had the chance to put us back on terms not long after but could not quite get his header on target before David Neres later came close to doubling the Dutch side’s lead, hitting the upright in the second period.
