Two legendary European clubs clash at the Allianz Arena. Now although the difference between these clubs is pretty big nowadays and Bayern are expected to dominate, this still doesn’t take away the fact that Ajax is a big club. Both clubs made great starts in Europe with comfortable wins and will look to strengthen their group position with a win here. Bayern have hit a little bit of a rut drawing with Augsburg and losing to Hertha so maybe this is the perfect time for Ajax to play them and cause a potential upset? We’ll have to wait and see what happens.
Key Facts
Bayern Munich have won 12 straight UEFA CL group stage games at home. Last droppage of points came in 2013 December when they lost 2-3 to Man City.
The last 4 Bayern’s games had under 2.5 goals. Every game only had 2 goals in them.
Lewandowski has scored 5 goals this season in all competitions. He’s already gotten on the scoresheet in UEFA CL.
After winning their first 6 matches, Bayern have not won their last 2. 1D 1L and have fallen off the top in Bundesliga.
The last time Bayern and Ajax met was in 2004-05 group stages. Bayern won the home fixture 4-0.
Ajax are winless in 10 straight away group stages games in UEFA CL. Last win coming in 2011 at Dinamo Zagreb.
Ajax’s only big away game this season came against PSV and they lost that 3-0.
Ajax have already played 7 UEFA CL games (6 qualifiers) this season and there have been 5 over 2.5 goals games with them involved in Europe.
Including CL qualifers, Ajax’s striker Huntelaar has already scored 10 goals this season!
Team News
Bayern Munich: Tolisso, Rafinha, Goretzka and Coman are all out for Bayern. However we could see potential changes to the line-up that lost to Hertha on Friday. Hummels is the first name that comes to mind who sat on the bench as he’s expected to slot in back for Sule. Another name that could start is Thomas Muller after coming off the bench. The last couple of results did not go Bayern’s way to Niko Kovac will have to find answers on how to sort it out. Expect the main men Robben, James, Ribery, Lewandowski all to start but don’t rule out changes. Niko Kovac is expected to put out a very attacking side against Ajax who we’ve seen get punished against bigger sides.
Ajax: Ajax will only have one key absentee with Frenkie de Jong not being able to feature with an injury. Elsehwere, there’s no problems. Tadic and Huntelaar are two players to watch with Tadic being a very dangerous creator and Huntelaar showing fantastic goal scoring form this season as already mentioned with 10. Defensively is where Ajax will be seriously tested however, they were ripped apart in their only big away game this season at PSV 3-0 and now they face an even bigger challenge in Bayern. It’s key for Ajax to start off strong because if they allow Bayern get off to a strong start then this could turn into a massacre and that’s what Ajax don’t want. If they frustrate Bayern long enough then they may have a shot at getting something here.
Betting Tips and Predictions
This is one of those games where you should surely see goals, but the odds for 2.5 are very low and 3.5 looks a little risky since there’s a possibility that Ajax may not score. In this match, we’re looking at a strong bounce back performance by Bayern after dropping 5 points in 2 league games. At home in Europe they’re pretty much invincible nowadays while Ajax’s away record is poor in Europe. Bayern -2 AH at 1.90 is our first pick. We do believe that Bayern will keep a clean sheet here so Bayern to win to nil 2.12 and BTTS no 1.85 are our other two picks. In Netherlands, sure Ajax can score goals and against a team like AEK at home but when it comes to playing at the Allianz Arena against Bayern, the level of competition changes and even on current form we expect Bayern to show up and dominate. 3-0 win to Munich here.
Match Odds (TonyBet)
Bayern Munich Win – 1.20
Draw – 7.55
Ajax Win – 14.75
KICK OFF – 2nd October 2018 – 8pm UK Time
