Ajax will look to maintain their excellent start to the Europa League group stages when they travel to Spain on Thursday to face Celta Vigo.
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The Amsterdammers have made a perfect start to their campaign so far with two wins from two and currently sit top of Group G but face their toughest test so far on Thursday against Celta Vigo, who are also unbeaten in the group with four points so far.
Confidence couldn’t be higher at Ajax with the club winning their last nine matches in all competitions, including a simple 2-0 win over ADO Den Haag in the Eredivisie on Sunday which kept Peter Bosz’s side in second place behind league leaders Feyenoord.
Opponents Celta Vigo have had an indifferent start to their season, with a five-game winning streak ended at the weekend when they were hammered 5-0 by Villarreal. Bosz himself stated in his pre-match press conference that Celta are, “Hit and miss.”
Team News
Bosz has stated that he will field his strongest possible team for the game despite the fact that Ajax face rivals Feyenoord in a crucial league game this weekend. Lasse Schone and Kenny Tete are unavailable through injury, meaning either Jairo Riedewald or Riechedly Bazoer will come into the midfield.
Possible Ajax line-up: Onana, Veltman, Sinkgraven, Sanchez, Viergever, Bazoer, Gudelj, Klaassen, Toure, Younes, Dolberg
Celta Vigo are set to rest a number of players for the game with Theo Bongonda, Hugo Mallo, Iago Aspas and Gustavo Cabral all left out, but former Feyenoord striker John Guidetti is in the squad and is expected to feature.
Head to Head
Ajax and Celta Vigo were drawn together in the 2003/04 Champions League group stages. Ajax won their home leg 1-0 thanks to a Zlatan Ibrahimovic goal but lost 3-2 in Spain. They are the only two meetings between the clubs.
Can Ajax claim a victory?
Ajax are currently in great form and a win over Celta Vigo would all but assure their place in the next round of the competition. The fact that Celta aren’t taking the game too seriously means Ajax should start the game as favourites, but the Spaniards have a good squad and whoever comes into the eleven will be eager to impress the coach, who will undoubtedly be unhappy after the 5-0 defeat at the weekend. Ajax will need to defend strongly and take the chances that fall their way on the counter if they are to come away from Spain with three points.
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