Ajax take on the visitors Lazio in the round 6 match of UEFA Europa League group stage. The match will be played on Thursday, December 12th at Johan Cruijff Arena (Amsterdam).
Ajax are a legendary club in Dutch and European football. However, not long ago, this Eredivisie giant found itself hovering near the relegation zone. Fortunately, they managed to recover and finish in fifth place. This summer, Francesco Farioli took over as head coach after an intriguing yet mixed tenure with Nice last season. At Ajax, he’s working to secure second place domestically—competing with PSV seems almost impossible for any Dutch team this year. On the international stage, Ajax narrowly avoided elimination in the qualifiers. After comfortably defeating Vojvodina, they edged out Panathinaikos 1-0 in Athens but lost by the same scoreline at home. Only after a marathon penalty shootout (13-12) did they progress. They then eased past Jagiellonia and collected 10 points in the group stage, facing Besiktas, Slavia Prague (who forced a draw), Qarabag, and Maccabi Tel Aviv. However, in the latest round, they fell to Real Sociedad in San Sebastián.
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Lazio are showing progress with use of the squad rotation. The “Eagles” achieved one of the best seasons in their history in 2023, but their form dipped sharply afterward. By the end of the campaign—and after parting ways with Maurizio Sarri—they clawed back to seventh place, earning a Europa League spot. Under new head coach Marco Baroni, Lazio has primarily focused on Serie A, where they recovered from a rocky start and climbed into the top group by late autumn. In Europe, Lazio has relied heavily on their second-string players, who have almost secured knockout-stage qualification. They began the campaign with wins over Dynamo Kyiv, Nice, Twente, and Porto. However, their latest outing resulted in a goalless draw against Ludogorets.
These two sides have met only once before, back in 2000, during a friendly tournament in Amsterdam, which ended in a 0-0 draw. Both teams are known for their attacking style and may approach this game with less pressure on the result. Expect an open, high-scoring encounter. A bet on "Over 3.0 goals" seems appealing.
Prediction for the match: Over 3.0 scored goals.
