PAOK Saloniki v Ajax Betting Tips – UEFA Champions League, 6th August 18.00pm
PAOK Saloniki and Ajax do battle at the Toumba Stadium in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie on Tuesday evening. PAOK are not an easy to nut to crack on their own patch, but the Dutch champions head to Thessaloniki as the favourites to return to Amsterdam with a lead. Can the hosts make life difficult for last season’s Champions League semi-finalists, or will Ajax prevail in Greece?
PAOK Saloniki v Ajax Betting Odds*
PAOK Saloniki 11/4
Draw 12/5
Ajax Evens
* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on August 5th, 2019 at 15:30 p.m.)
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Table of Contents
PAOK Saloniki News and Form – Can the Black-Whites make home advantage count?
PAOK Saloniki dominated the Greek Super League last season, winning 26 and drawing four of their 30 league matches. PAOK, who scored 66 goals and shipped just 14, finished five points ahead of Olympiacos in Greece’s top tier.
Saloniki had a real go in Champions League qualifying last season, beating Basel and Spartak Moscow before coming up short against Portuguese giants Benfica. They then faced the likes of Chelsea, BATE Borisov and MOL Vidi in the UEFA Europa League, exiting the competition in the group stage.
The Black-Whites begin the defence of their title with a home game against Panetolikos in late August. The Thessaloniki side will be gunning for a fourth Greek crown this season. In terms of Tuesday’s game, though, can PAOK cause an upset on home turf?
PAOK Saloniki v Ajax Head to Head
PAOK Saloniki and Ajax met at the same stage of this competition three years ago. Ajax edged a close tie, winning 3-2 on aggregate. After a 1-1 draw in Amsterdam, the Dutch outfit picked up a 2-1 away victory to go through.
The two teams also met in the Champions League qualifiers nine years back, with Ajax prevailing on away goals. They played out a six-goal thriller in Greece, which was enough to take Ajax through after a 1-1 stalemate in Amsterdam.
- PAOK were unbeaten in the Greek league last term
- Ajax reached last season’s Champions League semi-finals
- The Amsterdam club won their 34th Dutch title last season
Ajax News and Form – Will the Dutch champions be too strong?
Ajax kicked off their season with a 2-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Super Cup at the end of last month. However, their Eredivisie campaign started with a disappointing 2-2 draw at Vitesse Arnhem last Saturday. Ajax had to come from behind twice to pick up a point at GelreDome.
The Dutch giants made a huge impact in the Champions League last term, reaching the final two. However, they were on the wrong end of a thrilling semi-final with Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham Hotspur.
Ajax won the first leg 1-0 at Wembley Stadium. They then led 2-0 in the Johan Cruyff Arena before Spurs staged one of the greatest comebacks in Champions League history. Lucas Moura’s late, late goal gave Tottenham a 3-2 win in the Dutch capital which put the Premier League side through on away goals. Nevertheless, Ajax’s young team earned huge plaudits for their stunning run in the competition.
In the Eredivisie, meanwhile, Ajax won their 34th Dutch title, beating rivals PSV to top spot by three points. Ten Hag’s side were superb, winning 28 of their 34 league encounters. The club ended their league campaign with eight wins on the spin.
Ajax may have lost Matthijs de Ligt to Juventus and Frenkie de Jong to Barcelona, but Erik ten Hag still has a very talented squad at his disposal. Meanwhile, Quincy Promes, Edson Alvarez and Razvan Marin have joined the Amsterdam club this summer.
After last year’s heroics, Ajax will be desperate to have another crack at the Champions League this time around. However, they must get past the Greek champions over two legs first.
PAOK Saloniki v Ajax Tips & Odds
Ajax to win -2 at 13/2
Ajax to win to nil at 11/5
* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on August 5th, 2019 at 15:33 p.m.)
PAOK Saloniki v Ajax Predictions
Ajax win: The Dutch giants have just edged the previous two Champions League qualifying meetings between the two clubs, but I can see them winning comfortably this time. Back Ten Hag’s boys to win -2 on Tuesday at 13/2. Also, put some money on the visitors to win to nil at bet365’s tempting price of 11/5.
