Ajax take on the visitors Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of UEFA Europa League round of 1/8-finals. The match will be played on Thursday, March 6th at Johan Cruijff Arena (Amsterdam).
Ajax is unlikely to fully focus on this tournament. The Amsterdam club has gone multiple seasons without winning the Eredivisie title. Last season started disastrously, but they managed to recover and finish sixth, securing a spot in European competition. However, this season, they have caught up with and even surpassed PSV domestically, making it clear that the league remains their top priority. Perhaps this is why their Europa League performances have been inconsistent. They barely made it through qualifying, needing a record-long penalty shootout to eliminate Panathinaikos after losing 0-1 in Amsterdam. In the group stage, they collected 10 points in the first four games but then lost to Real Sociedad, Lazio, and even Latvian side RFS. A crucial home win against Galatasaray in the final round secured their place in the knockouts. There, they won 2-0 away at Union Saint-Gilloise but then conceded twice at home, only advancing thanks to an extra-time goal. Despite their struggles in Europe, Ajax has looked dominant in recent Eredivisie fixtures, showing their growing confidence domestically.
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Eintracht Frankfurt have reestablished themselves as a top German side in recent years. They finished sixth in 2023/2024 and were even as high as third in this Bundesliga campaign. However, many of their points came thanks to the goals and assists of Omar Marmoush, who was sold to Manchester City in January. Without him, their form dipped noticeably, and now their focus is on staying within the top four. Their Europa League performances were strong early on. After a 3-3 draw with Viktoria Plzeň, they won four straight games before losing 2-3 to Lyon in January. They bounced back with a home win over Ferencváros, but in their final group-stage match, already without their star forward, Toppmöller’s squad lost 0-2 to Roma. Defensive frailties have also emerged recently, with Eintracht conceding multiple goals in several key fixtures.
The only previous meeting was a 2020 friendly, where Ajax won 2-1. These teams are considered nearly equal in strength. However, Ajax has home advantage, making them the safer bet with a (0) handicap.
Prediction for the match: Ajax to win with 0.0 handicap.
