Jablonec vs Ajax Betting Tips

Jablonec showed plenty of heart as they staved off Ajax’s attacks in the first leg of this Europa League tie. The Amsterdam outfit might rightfully feel that they threw away too many chances, but just as important in the final score-line was the display that Jablonec put in through their first half. They played an energetic defensive game simultaneously clogging up the middle of the field while not allowing any space out wide.

The second leg is a different matter for Jablonec. They must find a way to score at least one goal and they need to stop Ajax again. Presumably, they’ll set up to stop the visitors, but stopping a quality attack is always more difficult the second time.

Ajax have made a bright start to their Dutch Eredivisie campaign with three straight wins, but they’ve struggled to find consistency in European competition. They were surprisingly eliminated by Austrian side Rapid Wien in Champions League qualifying and were far from their best in 1-0 victory against Jablonec last week.

They’ve got lots of attacking options moving forward and once they’re into the group stages, they’ll view this as a winnable competition.

Three Reasons for Betting Tips

1. Ajax are in form

If they had taken a couple of their better chances last week, we wouldn’t bother discussing the outcome of this game because the winner of the tie would have been a foregone conclusion. Whatever the negatives, Ajax can be very pleased with the way their squad is shaping up in 2015-16 and with the football they have played so far. There’s no reason to believe that Thursday night will do anything more than confirm that Ajax are a strong side.

2. The odds are superb

To get 21/10 on Ajax in a game like this is an opportunity. They have the better side, they have the depth to play with a little squad rotation and even with a 1-0 lead, they need to play to win and to score goals. If we write off the first leg and look at the two sides objectively, Ajax should win this match nine times out of ten.

3. Jablonec cannot sit back forever

It’s a conundrum. They may play defensively to start with, but there will come a point when they need to attack. At that time, they open themselves up to Ajax’s fast-paced counter attacking football.

Ajax to win 2-1

We’ll give Jablonec something, but Ajax will play better football in this tie and emerge as winners of the game and will progress to the next stage of the competition.