A historical poster, nothing more and nothing less. Benfica, European Cup winner in 1961 and 1962, receives Ajax, who won the prize in 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1995. The teams have a history that goes back to the quarter-finals of the European Cup in 1969. Benfica won the first leg, but Ajax managed to turn it around in the return and have never lost to O Glorioso† In fact, since that diptych in 1969, Benfica has only managed to score once in five meetings with the team from Amsterdam. How is Ajax going against the Portuguese this time? We look ahead with TOTO.
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For Ajax, the timing to meet Benfica seems perfect. The Portuguese club is in dire straits: the club was eliminated in both domestic cup tournaments, seems to be able to forget the championship and fired trainer Jorge Jesus in the winter break. Also last Friday, the team suffered another blow in the Portuguese competition. After a 0-2 lead, there was still a draw in the final phase against low-flyer Boavista. Ajax, on the other hand, is on steam, especially on the highest stage. The team from Amsterdam won all group matches in the Champions League with a goal difference of 20-5 and recently recaptured the lead in the Eredivisie. So Ajax will be the favorite on paper, but does Erik ten Hag’s team also know how to express this on the field?
Will Ajax beat Benfica, or will the team from Amsterdam be surprised? View the odds here.
Ajax is chasing a historic performance against Benfica. After the six victories in the group stage, a seventh consecutive victory beckons for the team from Amsterdam, which would mean a record. Never before has a team from outside the five biggest leagues managed to record so many victories in a row in the billion-dollar ball. Ajax could thus confirm its status of ‘best of the rest’ – precisely against a club from Portugal, the main competitor on the coefficient list. But also outside the Champions League, Ajax is still doing well, the team now has a winning streak of ten matches in all competitions. And even if it goes a little more difficult, like last weekend against Willem II, Ten Hag can rely on a solid defense. In the last ten games, Ajax conceded only one goal and kept nine clean sheets.
Does Ajax know how to keep the goal clean again? Bet here on an Amsterdam clean sheet.
The player who has made the most impression at Ajax in the Champions League this season is Sébastien Haller. He was top goalscorer in the group stage with ten goals and as lead chaser Robert Lewandowski, with nine goals, failed to score against Red Bull Salzburg last week, Haller could be on the run for the top goalscorer title. The last time Ajax traveled to Portugal for the group match against Sporting Portugal, the Ivorian was accurate no fewer than four times. In any case, the African Cup at the beginning of January does not seem to have taken Haller out of his rhythm, because in the four games since his return to Ajax, the striker has already been accurate six times. All signs of a goal against Benfica seem to be there for Haller.
Will Sébastien Haller strengthen his lead on the top scorers list? Bet on a goalscorer here.
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