Ajax coach Maurice Steijn has announced Ajax’s line-up for the Europa League match with AEK Athens. The coach makes one change compared to the abandoned match against RKC Waalwijk: Benjamin Tahirovic takes the place of the suspended Silvano Vos in midfield. The match starts at 6:45 PM and can be seen at Veronica and ESPN2.
Jay Gorter is behind the bar for the Amsterdam team. The four-man defense consists of Devyne Rensch, Josip Sutalo, Gastón Ávila and Jorrel Hato. Tahirovic and Kenneth Taylor are behind number 10 Steven Berghuis in midfield. Striker Brian Brobbey sees Carlos Forbs (right) and Steven Bergwijn (left) standing next to him.
AEK-uit promises to be a tough match for Ajax. The Greeks caused a surprise in their opening match in Group B by beating Brighton & Hove Albion 2-3. Last weekend, however, coach Matías Almeyda’s team suffered a blow in the competition. OFI Crete proved too strong with a 2-0 win. Nevertheless, confidence at AEK is high, partly due to the unrest in Amsterdam. “I get some things from that,” Nordin Amrabat said at the press conference. “I think it is always to your advantage if there is chaos at a club (of the opponent, ed.). That seeps through to the field. But a cat in a corner makes strange jumps.”
At Ajax they will be eager for a good result. The team from Amsterdam seemed to be on their way to a victory last weekend, but due to the serious injury of Etienne Vaessen, the match was stopped and the result will not be announced until December. Steijn already announced at the press conference that Vos’ place would be taken by Tahirovic. Sutalo, who also kicks off, played with Dinamo Zagreb against AEK in the preliminary rounds of the Champions League at the beginning of this season. Dinamo was eliminated, after which Sutalo left for Ajax. He has not yet made an indelible impression there. “In any case, I am happy that the potential is there, so it is up to me to extract it,” Steijn said at Veronica.
AEK Athens line-up:
Ajax line-up: Gorter; Rensch, Sutalo, Ávila, Hato; Taylor, Berghuis, Tahirovic; Forbs, Brobbey, Bergwijn.