Ajax vs Tottenham
Uefa Champions League 2018-19 | Semi-final, second leg
Venue: Johan Cruijff ArenA, Amsterdam
Date: Wednesday, 8 May, 2019
Kick-off: 8pm BST, tonight
Referee: Felix Brych
Tottenham know that a Champions League Final against Liverpool awaits if they can overturn a narrow deficit against Ajax in Amsterdam tonight.
Tottenham are 1-0 down on aggregate as they head into the second leg of this semi-final after Donny van de Beek's 15th-minute goal saw a young, vibrant Ajax side leave Spurs' new stadium with a key win.
However, Tottenham may be buoyed after watching Liverpool pull off one of the greatest ever European comebacks on Tuesday, as Jurgen Klopp's men beat Barcelona 4-0 at Anfield to reach the Final with a 4-3 aggregate victory.
It was an odd weekend on the domestic front for Mauricio Pochettino's side, who saw both Heung-min Son and Juan Foyth sent off in a stoppage-time defeat to Bournemouth.
They looked like they had missed the opportunity to guarantee a top-four Premier League finish ahead of the last round of fixtures, only for Manchester United and Arsenal to drop points 24 hours later, meaning that the Gunners will need a massive goal swing on the final day of the season to usurp their north London rivals.
Ajax, meanwhile, just seem to go from strength to strength after Klaas-Jan Huntelaar notched a brace in a 4-0 KNVB Cup Final demolition of Willem II at De Kuip on Sunday - their sixth straight win across all competitions and the first part of a potential treble.
Ajax vs Tottenham team news and predicted line-ups
Hassane Bande and Carel Eiting are Ajax's only known injury absentees, while the likes of David Neres and Lasse Schone were limited to second-half cameos in Rotterdam with the second leg approaching fast.
Despite his domestic suspension, Tottenham will welcome back Heung-min Son for this tie after he missed last week's defeat as the result of a yellow card picked up in the thrilling quarter-final decider against Manchester City.
Both Erik Lamela and Serge Aurier have returned to training ahead of the game in Amsterdam, while Jan Vertonghen is also available but will have to wear a mask.
The Belgian was cleared of suffering concussion following a clash of heads with Toby Alderweireld during the first half against Erik ten Hag's side last week, though missed Saturday's game against Bournemouth.
Mauricio Pochettino, however, will be without defender Davinson Sanchez who picked up a thigh problem in the defeat at Bournemouth.
Predicted line-ups
Ajax: Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, Schone, De Jong, Ziyech, Van de Beek, Neres, Tadic
Tottenham: Lloris, Trippier, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Rose, Wanyama, Sissoko, Alli, Eriksen, Son, Lucas
Score prediction: Ajax 1-1 Tottenham
Perhaps unsurprisingly for a team that have played so many matches this season and not made a signing since January 2018, Tottenham are looking weary as the end of the season approaches.
However, the fact that they are only trailing by one goal and still well in the tie should give them confidence given how well Ajax started that first leg.
The pressure is off for Spurs in some ways as a result of them securing a top-four finish by their rivals' ineptitude bar an unlikely sequence of final-day events, while Ajax do not appear quite as strong at home in the Champions League as they have been on the road (losing to Real Madrid and drawing with Juventus).
Having said that, only one of the 17 teams who have lost the home first leg of a semi-final in the Champions League era have gone on to win on aggregate - Ajax themselves in 1995-96.
