Ajax will welcome Union Berlin to Johan Cruijff Arena for the first leg of the 2022/23 Europa League knockout playoffs.
Ajax find themselves in this stage of the Europa League by finishing third in their UEFA Champions League group stage behind Napoli and Liverpool.
They have not had a good season since Erik ten Hag left, with his replacement Alfred Schreuder sacked last month after overseeing a seven-game winless run of league games.
But things have looked up under Johnny Heitinga, with the new coach leading Ajax to four consecutive league wins.
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They will turn their attention to this tie, hoping to build on their all-time record against German opponents in search of progression (W23, D7, L8). The hosts have progressed from ten of their 12 two-legged UEFA ties against German opponents, so they will back themselves to record a straight win here.
Union Berlin qualified for this stage of the Europa League courtesy of a second-place finish in their Europa League group.
This is their first taste of knockout European football, and they will be hoping to get their first-ever positive result against Dutch opponents after a pair of defeats against Feyenoord last season.
Urs Fischer’s men look well placed to do exactly that after maintaining their perfect 2023 competitive record (W6) with a 2-1 win at Leipzig at the weekend, a victory which kept them just one point in arrears of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich as they strive for a maiden top-flight title.
Union Berlin games have been characterised by tight margins, as four of their last five victories came by a 2-1 scoreline. All six of their UEL group games also ended with a 1-0 scoreline either way (W4, L2), highlighting the Iron Ones’ steely determination.
That said, we can expect an Under 2.5 Goals outing in this game.
