Ajax are looking very strong offensively, registering 48 shots and scoring seven goals in their last two appearances. Shelbourne are in terrible shape right now, so I expect a one-sided game in Amsterdam.
Key Stats
- Ajax have scored 4+ goals in their last 2 matches (Conference League).
No Previous H2H Meetings
This is going to be the first head to head match between Ajax and Shelbourne.
Ajax Entered the New Season with High Expectations
After not so great results in the previous season (barely secured European berth), Ajax parted ways with Oscar Garcia and appointed Michel as the new head manager earlier this summer.
Michel’s first official match was against Vojvodina in the previous Conference League qualifying round, crushing the Serbian side 4-1 as visitors.
They dominated the reverse tie, winning 4-1 in front of the home crowd while posting 3.66-0.24 xG, having 71% possession and 27-4 shots. Oscar Gloukh was named man of the match, scoring a hat-trick.
Last weekend, Ajax played a friendly match against Volendam and won 3-1, once again posting high xG numbers (3.23) and firing 21 shots.
Shelbourne Going Through Rough Period
After being eliminated by a lower division side Kerry in the Irish Cup on penalties (2-2 in regular time), Shelbourne parted ways with head manager Lorcan Fitzgerald and appointed John Russell in mid-July.
His debut was in the Conference League qualifiers, beating Nome Kalju 5-2 in front of the home crowd where Sean Moore registered two goals and one assist. A 2-1 defeat in Estonia in the reverse tie was enough to advance.
However, last weekend’s performance against Waterford was quite poor, registering just one shot on target and losing the encounter 1-0, leaving them in 5th place in the Premier Division with 34 points after 25 rounds.
Team News & Predicted Lineups
Ajax (4-3-3) Maarten Paes; Lucas Rosa, Aaron Bouwman, Daley Blind, Owen Wijndal; Davy Klaassen, Youri Regeer, Oscar Gloukh; Steven Berghuis, Kasper Dolberg, Oliver Edvardsen
Allegedly Mika Godts has reached an agreement with PSG and likely will miss this match. Josip Sutalo, Ko Itakura, Dies Jense and van Axel Dongen are ruled out due to injuries.
Shelbourne (4-3-3) Edward Beach; Milan Mbeng, Kameron Ledwidge, Paddy Barrett, James Norris; Daniel Kelly, Kerr McInroy, Ali Coote; Evan Caffrey, Rodrigo Freitas, Sean Moore
Ademipo Odubeko is the only absentee for the visitors, recovering from a thigh injury.
Ademipo Odubeko is the only absentee for the visitors, recovering from a thigh injury.