AJAX v LYON
Wednesday 3rd May 2017 – Kickoff: 1945hrs
Football – Europe – Europa League Betting Tips
Dutch side Ajax will once again turn to their impressive home form in this Europa League competition when they host French outfit Lyon in their semi-final first leg at the Amsterdam ArenA with the big prize of a final place at stake.
Ajax topped Group G in the group stages as they cruised at a canter, remaining unbeaten throughout this phase and registering wins in each of their home matches with victories over Standard Liege, Celta Vigo and Panathinaikos.
Ajax’s strong home results have also helped them progress through the knockout rounds as they’ve collected wins over Legia Warsaw (last 32), Copenhagen (last 16) and Schalke 04 (quarter-final). Look out for striker Dolberg (14 goals), Traore (9 goals) and midfielder Schone (7 goals) for the hosts here.
Visitors Lyon have had less time to prepare for this Europa League semi-final first leg as they were in action over the weekend in the French Ligue 1, which ended with a 2-1 win away at Angers SCO, but they face a tough task when they go to Amsterdam on Wednesday night.
Lyon’s recent matches domestically have also seen a couple of cracks possibly appear in Ligue 1 as they’ve suffered recent defeats to Lorient and Monaco as the season and additional european involvement may have started to take its toll.
However, Lyon will take heart from their last visit to Netherlands in this competition where they recorded a heavy 4-1 win at AZ Alkmaar. Defeat at Roma followed, along with having to go to penalties to beat Turkish side Besiktas in the quarter-final.
With this in mind, I’ll back the home side Ajax to at least avoid defeat here but they could well take a lead into the second leg.
Pick: Ajax AH0 @ 1.76 Bet Victor
