Ajax vs Tottenham
Uefa Champions League 2018-19 | Semi-final, second leg
Venue: Johan Cruijff ArenA, Amsterdam
Date: Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Kick-off: 8pm BST
Tottenham will look to overturn a narrow deficit when they head to Amsterdam for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final tie on Wednesday night.
Spurs trail 1-0 on aggregate after Donny van de Beek's 15th-minute goal at their new stadium last week in a match overshadowed by debate surrounding an injury to Jan Vertonghen, failing to cope with their young, vibrant opponents in the first half before improving after the interval.
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 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.
With Harry Kane and Harry Winks among the missing in the first leg, youngsters Kyle Walker-Peters and Oliver Skipp were named on the bench.
Pochettino will welcome the return of Heung-min Son for Wednesday night's game, with Spurs trailing 1-0, with the South Korean having been suspended for the first leg.
Harry Kane is still recovering from his ankle ligament injury.
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.
Betting tips via Betfair | UK users only | Subject to change
Match odds
- Ajax to win on the night: 6/5
- Draw: 11/4
- Tottenham to win on the night: 12/5
Semi-final odds
- Ajax to qualify for the final: 2/7
- Tottenham to qualify for the final: 5/2
First goalscorer odds
- Harry Kane: 4/1
- Heung-min Son: 9/2
- Kasper Dolberg: 5/1
- Dusan Tadic: 5/1
- Klaas-Jan Huntelaar: 5/1
- Fernando Llorente: 6/1
- Hakim Ziyech: 13/2
Click here to find the latest match odds and place a bet.
Ajax vs Tottenham tickets
Tickets for Wednesday night's semi-final contest are sold out and police have warned fans to be wary of scammers.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Last week's first leg saw Ajax record their first competitive victory over Tottenham in three attempts.
Previously, they were beaten 6-1 on aggregate in a two-legged Uefa Cup Winners' Cup tie all the way back in 1981.
TV channel and live stream, and online coverage
The match will be televised live on BT Sport 2, with coverage starting from 7pm. BT Sport subscribers will be able to stream the match online via the video player and the BT Sport app.
You can also follow all the action on Standard Sport's match blog from Amsterdam LIVE on the night.
