Ajax take on the visitors Ludogorets in the second leg of UEFA Europa League qualification finals. First time result: 4-1. The match will be played on Thursday, August 31st at Johan Cruijff Arena (Amsterdam).
Ajax are forced to settle for this tournament only. The Ajaxites survive by selling their homegrown stars. However, in 2022, the squad weakened significantly, with many leaving for free (although Antony was sold for an inflated 100 million). Notably, ten Hag was also let go to Manchester United, without finding a replacement. As a result, the Dutch champions finished only in 3rd place. It's uncertain whether the situation has been rectified now. The new coach is Maurice Steijn, and in the 2nd match of the new Eredivisie campaign, they dropped points - finishing in a draw with a mid-table team, coming back for a 2-2 draw as the favorites. Additionally, several key players left again, from Tadic to Kudus, the latter of whom was sold to West Ham for over 40 million on Sunday. However, it was Mohammed Kudus who secured the passage to Ludogorets: he scored a hat-trick against the Bulgarians, and the Dutch team ended with a 4-1 win.
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Ludogorets currently appears unconvincing. The Eagles secured their 12th consecutive championship title in the spring. However, they were only 1 point ahead of Sofia's CSKA - a significant alarm for an undeniable grandeur. But it seems that they couldn't hear or didn't want to hear that in Razgrad. For now, the start for the Bulgarian flagship is far from promising. They are not even leading on their home ground, having lost twice in the first 6 rounds. Additionally, in the Champions League, under the guidance of Ivaylo Petev, they nervously passed Balkani (yes, they crushed the underdog 4-0 at home, but before that, there was a 0-2 in Kosovo!), only to lose to the next opponent, Olimpija. After a 1-1 draw at home, the Bulgarians played with the same scoreline in Ljubljana until the 90th minute, but conceded in added time and failed to convert their penalty. Then came a 1-2 loss in Kazakhstan, but they regrouped to crush Astana 5-1. However, then the red and white from Amsterdam visited Razgrad.
Last week, the clubs faced each other head-to-head for the first time. The Dutch team is clearly stronger and playing at home. Therefore, we anticipate another confident victory from them, resulting in a final handicap of -2.0 goals scored.
Prediction for the match: Ajax to win with -2.0 handicap.
