Ajax may be out of the Champions League already but they face PSG looking to cement third place in their group.
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Defeat to Barcelona in the last round of matches ended any chance Ajax had of making it out of the Champions League group stages, but the Eredivisie champions now have to focus on sealing third place and a route to the Europa League. Ajax currently sit a point above APOEL Nicosia, with matches against PSG and the Cypriot side to come.
A win against PSG and APOEL failing to beat Barcelona would seal Ajax’s third spot, and Frank de Boer’s side head to Paris full of confidence having won their last four Eredivisie matches, most recently coming from behind to see off Heerenveen 4-1 on Saturday.
However the Ligue 1 champions have not lost a single game this season, and you would have to go back to last May and a 2-1 loss to Rennes to find the last match PSG lost at the Parc des Princes, and back to 2004 for the last defeat at home in the Champions League. Laurent Blanc’s side have won seven on the trot and they will be determined to beat Ajax in order to go into their final match against Barcelona with a good chance of topping the group and gaining a favourable draw in the next round.
Ajax will be without central defender Joel Veltman after the red card against Barcelona, with Stefano Denswil taking his spot in the squad, while Frank de Boer will have to once again choose between Kolbeinn Sigthorsson and Arkadiusz Milik for the striker role.
Probable Ajax line-up: Cillessen, Van Rhijn, Boilesen, Denswil, Moisander, Andersen, Serero, Klaassen, Schone, El Ghazi, Milik
PSG go into the game with several injury doubts after Yohan Cabaye and Thiago Motta came off early during the win over Metz on Friday, while David Luiz, Lucas, and Marco Veratti also missed the match. Although Luiz and Lucas are set to be fit enough for the game on Tuesday, while Gregory van der Wiel, Maxwell, and Zlatan Ibrahimovich will all face their former club.
Possible PSG line-up: Sirigu, Van der Wiel, Maxwell, Luiz, Thiago Silva, Rabiot, Matuidi, Pastore, Lucas, Lavezzi, Ibrahimovich
Ajax have not registered an away win in the Champions League since 2011, and with PSG desperate for a win, the French side should prove too strong for the Amsterdammers. Luckily APOEL are unlikely to get anything against Barcelona, and Ajax will go into the final round of matches only having to avoid defeat against the Cypriot side at the Amsterdam Arena to earn a spot in the Europa League.
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With the form that Anwar and Lasse are on at the moment PSG are gonna have trouble on the sides ! Now what worries me is the absence of Veltman in defense …