Tag Archives: Ajax

EREDIVISIE REPORT: Hero RVP turns to villain

Header-EredivisieReport

Following a busy week of KNVB Beker action, the Eredivisie returned with its seventh round of fixtures on Saturday evening at the Abe Lenstra Stadion where Tomáš Necid’s third goal in the Czech’s last two outings in all competitions earned ADO Den Haag a share of the points against Heerenveen while, at the same time, second-half goals from Luuk de Jong and substitute, Donyell Malen helped reigning Eredivisie champions, PSV Eindhoven to a third win on the bounce in all competitions on the road against NAC in Breda.

The day’s action was rounded out with two more fixtures kicking off simultaneously as second-half goals from Kasper Dolberg and Hakim Ziyech saw Ajax warm up tor Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich by taking all three points from their trip to Eredivisie new boys, Fortuna Sittard while a lone Elías Már Ómarsson effort ultimately proved enough to see a short-handed Excelsior send visiting VVV Venlo home empty-handed.

Sunday got underway in Almelo where two goals in the opening seven minutes from first, Brandley Kuwas and then Kristoffer Peterson ultimately proved enough to see in-form Heracles record a fifth-straight win in all competitions, at the expense of visiting FC Emmen.

Elsewhere, a goal from super-sub, Ahmad Mendes Moreira fourteen minutes from time saw struggling FC Groningen climb off the foot of the table after snatching a share of the spoils against an undermanned FC Utrecht while an 88th minute effort from second-half replacement, Zian Flemming earned PEC Zwolle a late point against AZ Alkmaar and an own goal from the unlucky Fernando Lewis a minute from time saw De Graafschap snatch all three points against nine-man Willem II in Doetinchem.

Image result for Feyenoord 2-1 Vitesse Arnhem

The weekend was brought to a close at De Kuip where Robin van Persie capped a come-from-behind victory for hosts, Feyenoord with an incredible free-kick three minutes from time to see off a dogged Vitesse Arnhem, who, having seen the former Arsenal and Manchester United man handed his marching orders a minute into added time, would end the game with just nine men when Danilho Doekhi was sent to join the previously dismissed Thomas Bruns four minutes later.

Results

SC Heerenveen 1-1 ADO Den Haag

NAC Breda 0-2 PSV Eindhoven

Fortuna Sittard 0-2 AFC Ajax

Excelsior 1-0 VVV Venlo

Heracles Almelo 2-1 FC Emmen

FC Groningen 1-1 FC Utrecht

AZ Alkmaar 2-2 PEC Zwolle

De Graafschap 2-1 Willem II

Feyenoord 2-1 Vitesse Arnhem

Name-StevenDavies

Click on Steven’s name above to follow him on Twitter

EREDIVISIE REPORT: PSV go five ahead of Ajax in De Topper

Header-EredivisieReport

The sixth round of Eredivisie action got underway on Friday evening at the Polman Stadion where in-form Heracles made it three wins on the bounce by hitting an undermanned De Graafschap for four.

Saturday’s top-flight action got underway in Sittard where a 77th-minute effort from Jose Rodriguez ultimately proved enough to earn Fortuna a share of the spoils in an eight-goal thriller with visiting Willem II.

Elsewhere, VVV Venlo made it back-to-back victories by smashing an undermanned NAC Breda for three while the 92nd-minute effort from substitute, Jizz Hornkamp earned Heerenveen a late share of the spoils in a six-goal thriller with Excelsior at the Van Donge & De Roo Stadion.

Saturday’s Eredivisie action was brought to a close in Arnhem where a 65th-minute effort from Abdenasser El Khayati ultimately proved enough to see ADO Den Haag put last week’s seven-goal humbling at the hands of PSV Eindhoven behind them by bagging a point on the road against ten-man Vitesse.

Sunday’s action in the Dutch top-flight began at De Kuip where a lone Robin van Persie goal three minutes from time saw Feyenoord snatch all three points from under the noses of a dogged FC Utrecht.

Elsewhere, a solitary first-half effort from Rick Dekker ultimately proved just enough to secure PEC Zwolle’s second victory of the campaign, on the road in Emmen while AZ Alkmaar edged their way back into the top five by hitting nine-man Groningen for three.

Image result for psv 3-0 ajax

The weekend was brought to a close at the Philips Stadion where three goals in the space of fourteen first-half minutes saw reigning Eredivisie champions, PSV Eindhoven sweep aside the challenge of title rivals, Ajax in De Topper to move five points clear at the top of the standings.

Results

Heracles Almelo 4-0 De Graafschap

Fortuna Sittard 4-4 Willem II

VVV Venlo 3-0 NAC Breda

Excelsior 3-3 SC Heerenveen

Vitesse Arnhem 1-1 ADO Den Haag

Feyenoord 1-0 FC Utrecht

FC Emmen 0-1 PEC Zwolle

FC Groningen 1-3 AZ Alkmaar

PSV Eindhoven 3-0 AFC Ajax

Name-StevenDavies

Click on Steven’s name above to follow him on Twitter

Champions League: Look for Ajax to dominate AEK Athens

Twenty four hours after PSV Eindhoven lock horns with Barcelona in the Nou Camp, it is the turn of four-time European Champions, AFC Ajax, who open their Group E campaign by playing host to reigning Greek champions, AEK Athens at the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Wednesday evening writes Steve Davies.

Ajax vs. AEK Athens

Wednesday, 17.55BST – Live on BT Sport ESPN

Twenty four hours after PSV lock horns with Barcelona in the Nou Camp, it is the turn of, Ajax, holders of the European title four times, who open their Group E campaign by playing host to reigning Greek champions, AEK Athens at the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Wednesday evening.

Image result for ajax aek athens

Despite picking up what was the club’s twelfth league crown last term, AEK Athens last title triumph came all the way back in 1994 with the intervening years seeing the club go to the brink of financial disaster and start all over again as an amateur outfit in the third tier in 2013 before achieving back-to-back promotions to reclaim their top-flight status.

However, having reached the semi-finals of the old UEFA Cup in 1977, the quarter-finals of the European Cup in 1969 in addition to making the same stage of the now defunct UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in both 1997 and 1998, AEK’s European pedigree shouldn’t be ignored.

Having negotiated their way past Scottish champions, Celtic 3-2 on aggregate in the third round of qualifying, Marinos Ouzounidis’ side then edged out Hungarian outfit, Videoton in the play-off round by the same scoreline to claim a place in the group stage of the competition. In addition, AEK has begun their domestic campaign in fine form with three successive victories leaving them top of the pile with a two-point advantage over second place PAOK. Even more impressively, AEK is yet to concede a goal in the league while bagging seven goals in just three outings thus far.

Ajax’s European pedigree is of course without question. However, with the last of their four European Cup triumphs coming all the way back in 1995, the club, much like Dutch football’s UEFA coefficient, has endured a largely disappointing time on the European stage ever since.

Even the optimism surrounding Ajax’s run to the final of the UEFA Europa League in 2017, where a fearless Peter Bosz-coached side came up just short against Manchester United, failed to propel the club back to the forefront of European club football after tumbling out of qualifying for both the UEFA Champions League and then the UEFA Europa League in quick succession under Marcel Keizer last term.

Image result for ajax aek athens

However, with former FC Utrecht coach, Erik ten Hag having succeeded Keizer at the helm, Ajax once more look like a side to be feared and, having accounted for SK Sturm Graz, Standard Liege and Dynamo Kiev in relatively routine fashion to reach the group stage of the competition while opening their domestic campaign with four wins from five in which they have found the back of the net an impressive fourteen times and conceded only once to leave ten Hag’s men two points off pace-setting PSV Eindhoven at the top of the Eredivisie standings, the Ajax faithful have good reason to believe their side capable of snatching second place in a group that, Bayern Munich aside, appears to be there for the taking.

In a strange way, Ajax’s long and winding road to the group stage of the competition has actually served to help bring together a side that appeared at various points in the summer to be heading in different directions. Few expected the likes of Hakim Ziyech, Matthijs de Ligt or Andre Onana to still be at the club but their rumoured moves failed to materialise leaving Erik ten Hag with an embarrassment of riches at his disposal.

As such, Ajax’s strong start to the campaign both at home and abroad has many expecting great things from the four-time European champions and with a vociferous Johan Cruijff ArenA behind them, ten Hag’s men should have no trouble getting off to a winning start in Group E.

Recommendation

Ajax to win 3-0

£5 on 9.50 at BetVictor

Season Record

W8-L9

Profit – £34.25

Name-StevenDavies

Click on Steven’s name above to follow him on Twitter

TotalDutchFootball.com

Eredivisie Team of the Week: Peterson rises as PSV & Ajax dominate

The Eredivisie season is back and so is our Player of the Year tournament. Every week Will Burns and Steve Davies select the best 11 from that week’s action and each player is awarded one point. One member of the team will win the ‘Player of the Week’ award and be awarded two points. Check the current standings here.

Two-goal Kristoffer Peterson claims our two-point Player of the Week prize as his side Heracles smashed Heerenveen 5-3 as the Swede also grabbed an assist in the win.

PSV and Ajax dominate the team taking eight of the eleven slots in the side. PSV smashed seven past ADO and Hirving Lozano and Luuk de Jong were obviously amongst the goals. Debutant Erick Gutierrez came off the bench to assist and score his own goal in the 7-0 rout.

Ajax, readying themselves for a Champions League group match against AEK midweek, defeated FC Groningen by three goals to no reply and veteran striker Klass-Jan Huntelaar and Dusan Tadic notched the goals.

More next week. Remember to keep an eye on the standings of the Player of the Season tournament by clicking here.

Name-WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutchFootball.com

EREDIVISIE REPORT: PSV in Seventh Heaven!

Header-EredivisieReport

With no Friday fixture following the international break, the fifth round of Eredivisie action got underway on Saturday evening with reigning Eredivisie champions, PSV Eindhoven tuning up for their UEFA Champions League encounter with Barcelona at the Nou Camp on Tuesday evening by hitting a hapless ADO Den Haag for seven in The Hague while VVV Venlo withstood a late fightback from hosts, De Graafschap to pick up their second win of the campaign.

Image result for ado psv

Elsewhere, a double from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and a goal from Dušan Tadić saw the second of the Netherlands’ UEFA Champions League hopefuls, Ajax prepare for their meeting with AEK Athens on Wednesday evening by hitting struggling FC Groningen for three at the Johan Cruijff ArenA to move to within two points of pacesetting PSV while two goals in the space of two minutes saw Willem II come from two-down to salvage an unlikely point late on against visiting Excelsior.

Sunday’s Eredivisie action got underway at the AFAS Stadion where a Steven Berghuis effort five minutes before the break ultimately proved enough to earn Feyenoord a point against AZ Alkmaar.

In the day’s other games, a scrambled effort from Branislav Ninaj nine minutes from time ultimately proved the difference as Fortuna Sittard edged out hosts, NAC Breda in a five-goal thriller to post the club’s first victory since returning to the top flight of Dutch football while second-half goals from substitute, Luciano Slagveer, and Glen Bijl saw FC Emmen come from a goal down to post their second victory since achieving Eredivisie status at the expense of an undermanned FC Utrecht.

Meanwhile, Kristoffer Peterson’s second of the afternoon followed by a Mohammed Osman effort two minutes from time eventually put Heracles out of sight in an eight-goal thriller with Heerenveen before the fifth round of Eredivisie action was brought to a close at the MAC³PARK Stadion where a first-half double from Tim Matavž saw Vitesse Arnhem get back to winning ways at the expense of struggling PEC Zwolle.

Results

De Graafschap 1-2 VVV Venlo

ADO Den Haag 0-7 PSV Eindhoven

Willem II 2-2 Excelsior

AFC Ajax 3-0 FC Groningen

AZ Alkmaar 1-1 Feyenoord

SC Heerenveen 3-5 Heracles Almelo

FC Utrecht 1-2 FC Emmen

NAC Breda 2-3 Fortuna Sittard

PEC Zwolle 0-2 Vitesse Arnhem

Name-StevenDavies

Click on Steven’s name above to follow him on Twitter

EREDIVISIE REPORT: PSV hit Willem II for six as Ajax are four-midable

Header-EredivisieReport

The fourth week of action in the Eredivisie got underway on Friday night at De Oude Meerdijk where a late Fabian Serrarens effort two minutes from time earned visiting De Graafschap a late share of the spoils against another newly-promoted side, FC Emmen.

Saturday began in Venlo where a 69th minute effort from substitute, Patrick Joosten saw hosts, VVV claim a point against visiting Heerenveen.

Elsewhere an incredible four-goal performance from Abdenasser El Khayati helped ADO Den Haag secure a second win in as many games away at Excelsior while reigning Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven made it six wins on the bounce in all competitions by hitting a hapless Willem II for six.

Saturday’s action was brought to a close in Sittard where Andrija Novakovich’s deflected 74th minute strike ultimately proved sufficient to see newly-promoted Fortuna share the spoils with visitors, FC Utrecht to post just their second point since making their return to the top flight of Dutch football.

Sunday’s Eredivisie action got underway in Groningen where a lone Vito van Crooij effort nineteen minutes into the second half proved just enough to see PEC Zwolle bag their first points of the campaign and move off the foot of the table.

Elsewhere, Ajax followed up securing a place in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League by hitting Vitesse for four without reply in Arnhem while, despite taking a 2nd minute lead through Myron Boadu, early season pacesetters, AZ Alkmaar ultimately slipped to a first league defeat of the campaign after goals from Mohammed Osman, Kristoffer Peterson and Lerin Duarte sealed a come-from-behind victory for hosts, Heracles in Almelo.

The fourth round of action in the Dutch top flight was brought to a close at De Kuip where Feyenoord edged into third place in the standings by hitting visiting NAC Breda for four to secure their third win in as many games.

Results

FC Emmen 1-1 De Graafschap

VVV Venlo 1-1 SC Heerenveen

PSV Eindhoven 6-1 Willem II

Excelsior 2-4 ADO Den Haag

Fortuna Sittard 1-1 FC Utrecht

Fc Groningen 0-1 PEC Zwolle

Heracles Almelo 3-2 AZ Alkmaar

Vitesse Arnhem 0-4 AFC Ajax

Feyenoord 4-2 NAC Breda

Name-StevenDavies

Click on Steven’s name above to follow him on Twitter

Eredivisie Team of the Week: Ziyech is our silky star man

Welcome to week three of the Total Dutch Football.com Eredivisie Player of the Year tournament. Every week Will Burns and Steve Davies select the best 11 from that week’s action and each player is awarded one point. One member of the team will win the ‘Player of the Week’ award and be awarded two points. Check the current standings here.

Hakim Ziyech was our standout player of the week. The Moroccan international was influential in the 5-0 drubbing over FC Emmen, torturing the defence with his plays and shots.

Luuk de Jong snatched his first two goals of the season in a last gasp 2-1 win over PEC Zwolle. Three Willem II players made the team. Fernando Lewis, Donis Avdijaj and Fran Sol were the pick of the team that thumped Heracles by five goals to nil.

More next week. Remember to keep an eye on the standings of the Player of the Season tournament by clicking here.

Name-WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutchFootball.com

Champions League: Ajax’s goal struggles means unders is a safe bet

Wednesday night sees Ajax host Dynamo Kiev in the next round of their Champions League qualification. Will Burns thinks Erik ten Hag’s men may struggle to find the net at the Johan Cruijff Arena.

Daley Blind Ajax

Ajax vs. Dynamo Kiev

Wednesday, 20:00BST – Live on BT Sport 2

In another massive night for Dutch football, Ajax face Ukrainian Premier League runners-up Dynamo Kiev in the final round of Champions League qualification. Erik ten Hag’s men have already dispatched Sturm Graz and Standard Liege and a win over two legs against Kiev will go a long way to help the UEFA coefficient for Dutch football.

Last December, on the release of the new UEFA rankings, it was declared that the champions of the Eredivisie would not automatically qualify for the Champions’ League group stages. The Dutch are currently 14th in the UEFA rankings behind neighbours Belgium and the likes of Austria, Czech Republic and Switzerland who arguably host weaker leagues.

The country and Ajax desperately need group stage qualification at the least and the Amsterdammers have pulled out all the stops this summer to make this happen. Big money signings Dušan Tadić and the returning Daley Blind put out a real statement of intent by Ajax, who brought in a total of four players for a big sum of €41m.

Although an abundance of talent is at Ten Hag’s disposal this is no easy route to the group stage for his side. In Atlético-esque fashion, Aleksandr Khatskevich’s side are masters of the 1-0 win. Out of all five domestic games this season, four in the league and one Super Cup final, they have won all five games by the 1-0 score line. Yes you did read that correctly – all five domestic games this season have ended in a 1-0 win for Dynamo.

Unbelievably they could have added another to the list in the away leg of the last Champions League qualifying round had Slavia Prague not scored a 95th minute penalty and that goal is the only goal they have conceded so far all season.

If we combine that with Ajax’s struggles to find the net in their two Eredivisie game so far, this will be a very tough contest for Ten Hag’s men. I envisage a cautious game that Ajax will find real difficulty breaking the Ukrainians down. Backing Under 2.5 Goals looks a sure bet and that is my recommendation in this match.

Recommendation

Under 2.5 Goals

£10 on 1.85 888Sport

Season Record

W4-L4

Profit – £29.75

Team news
Ajax
David Neres should miss out after sustaining a hamstring injury in Saturday’s 1-0 over VVV-Venlo.

Dynamo Kiev
Summer signing from Dnipro-1, Vladyslav Supriaha is the only notable absentee.

Key stat
Kiev have won all five of their domestic games this season by a 1-0 scoreline.

Name-WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutchFootball.com

Champions League: PSV can set example for the future of Dutch football

It’s a huge European tie this Tuesday night as PSV travel to Belarus to face BATE in a Champions League qualifier, Will Burns previews what is a one of four most important nights for Dutch football in the next fortnight.

Hirving Lozano PSV

BATE Borisov vs. PSV

Tuesday, 20:00BST – Live on BT Sport 3

Tuesday night sees PSV Eindhoven embark on their Champions League qualification in a two-legged affair that is one of the most significant games in recent history for Dutch football.

Last December, on the release of the new UEFA rankings, it was declared that the champions of the Eredivisie would not automatically qualify for the Champions’ League group stages. For at least the next two seasons, the Dutch champions have to go through the preliminary rounds before competing in the group phase. This was a huge blow to the country that has claimed three different European champions – Feyenoord, Ajax and PSV.

The Netherlands are now 14th in the UEFA rankings behind neighbours Belgium and the likes of Austria, Czech Republic and Switzerland who arguably host weaker leagues. Unfortunately, due to the lack of success in previous European competitions, this has what has become of Dutch football now as the Eredivisie has become a significant exporter of young talent to bigger leagues.

The Dutch teams need to act to improve the situation for the future of the league, and there’s certainly one way to start on Tuesday night: PSV to clinch the win away to Belarusian’s BATE Borisov. I predict this will be a hard task for Marc van Bommel’s side as history has proved that BATE are always a tough proposition at the Borisov Arena. In the last ten European ties at home, BATE have been dealt one defeat, a 4-2 Europa League loss to Arsenal last season.

BATE have a lightning quick counter attack that should be spearheaded by Montenegrin international Mirko Ivanić. The 24-year-old attacking midfielder/winger showed off this prowess in the last round at home to Azerbaijani opponents Qarabağ FK in a second leg 1-1 draw. Ivanić capitalised on a wayward pass across the defence and powered a run through onto goal to place the ball confidently in the net.

However, they did look suspect at the back that PSV may find rewarding. Using the counter attack, BATE received a lot of pressure over the two leagues against the Azerbaijan champions, outscored heavily 29-13 over the two legs. One has to think with the quality in the PSV attack (Hirving Lozano, Gaston Pereiro, Steven Bergwijn and Luuk de Jong) this defence can and should be breached and give the Eredivisie champions victory that themselves and Dutch football greatly need.

Recommendation

PSV win

£10 on 2.15 Bet Victor

Current Season Record

W3-L4

Profit – £18.25

Team news

BATE Borisov

The Belarusian Premier League has been on a short summer break throughout August so BATE are fully refreshed with no injuries announced.

PSV Eindhoven

In the 2-1 win away to a physical Fortuna Sittard on Saturday evening, in which Luuk de Jong stated: “We were lucky to snatch a late win”, Marc van Bommel named an unchanged side. It is thought he will do the same against BATE. No first team injury worries.

Key Fact

BATE Borisov have lost just one game in the last ten European home ties – a 2017/18 Europa League group stage fixture vs. Arsenal that finished 4-2.

Name-WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutchFootball.com

EREDIVISIE REPORT: Tadic to the rescue for Ajax

Header-EredivisieReport

The second round of action in the Dutch top flight got underway on Friday evening at the Hitachi Capital Mobility Stadion where a lone goal from Daniel Crowley saw Willem II post their first points of the campaign at the expense of hosts, FC Groningen, who remain without a point and propping up the table after succumbing to successive defeats in the opening two rounds of the season.

Saturday’s Eredivisie action began in Venlo where a late Dusan Tadic spot-kick saw an out-of-sorts Ajax snatch all three points against VVV.

Image result for dusan tadic

Elsewhere, NAC Breda brought De Graafschap back down to earth by hitting the newly promoted side for three, while a last-minute effort from substitute, Dante Rigo spared reigning Eredivisie champions, PSV Eindhoven’s blushes in Sittard against another of the league’s new boys, Fortuna.

Saturday’s action was rounded out in Almelo where Heracles followed up their impressive display at the Johan Cruijff ArenA last time out by hitting a hapless, ADO Den Haag for four.

Sunday’s action got underway at the Stadion Galgenwaard where first half goals from Joris van Overeem (who was later sent off) and Sean Klaiber saw FC Utrecht post their first points of the campaign at the expense of visiting, PEC Zwolle, who remain pointless.

Elsewhere, AZ Alkmaar ensured they would end the weekend back at the top of the standings by following up last week’s five-goal thrashing of NAC with a four-goal trouncing of top flight debutants, FC Emmen, while Feyenoord put a nightmare week in the rear view by hitting Rotterdam rivals, Excelsior for three at De Kuip.

Week two was brought to a close in Friesland where an 81st minute effort from Tim Matavz earned another side who saw their European hopes fade in mid-week, Vitesse Arnhem, a late share of the spoils against Heerenveen.

Results: Week 2

FC Groningen 0-1 Willem II

NAC Breda 3-0 De Graafschap

VVV Venlo 0-1 AFC Ajax

Fortuna Sittard 1-2 PSV Eindhoven

Heracles Almelo 4-2 ADO Den Haag

FC Utrecht 2-0 PEC Zwolle

Feyenoord 3-0 Excelsior

FC Emmen 1-4 AZ Alkmaar

SC Heerenveen 1-1 Vitesse Arnhem

Name-StevenDavies

Click on Steven’s name above to follow him on Twitter

EREDIVISIE Betting Tips: Matthijs de Ligt to fire Ajax to victory

Header-EredivisiePreview

Still holding a decent profit after a small midweek loss, Will Burns presents his selections for week two of the Eredivisie season.

matthijs de ligt ajax

VVV-Venlo vs. Ajax

Saturday, 17:30

Following PSV’s 4-0 demolition of FC Utrecht on the opening weekend, Ajax head south to Venlo to face VVV and Erik ten Hag’s team know that they cannot afford any slip-ups. Their bitter rivals from Eindhoven already hold a two-point lead over the Amsterdam giants after just one round as Heracles held de Godenzonen to a 1-1 draw last Saturday.

The Amsterdammers will need to close the gap in what should be a competitive race for the Eredivisie this season, and what a better way to start that by defeating Venlo on Saturday teatime.

VVV-Venlo experienced a better first round of games as they scraped a narrow 1-0 win away to Willem II. Maurice Steijn’s side were well organised but absorbed a lot of pressure from The Tricolores but goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall was superb keeping a clean sheet. The German did so well he claimed a place in our Team of the Week. Willem II’s force showed in the statistics having 17 shots to VVV’s six and claiming 13 corners to VVV’s two.

Anyone who witnessed Ajax’s Champions League 3-0 victory against Standard Liege on Tuesday night cannot be anything but impressed. It was a dominating performance that should have seen more goals and we saw young defender Matthijs de Ligt showing his worth with his second headed goal in two matches from a corner.

Ajax will press VVV and I see a lot of corners raining in and if so, then De Ligt will trouble the Venlo defence and I think him to score anytime at 9.50 at 888Sport is definitely worth sticking a fiver on.  I can certainly see Ajax racking up two or three goals so my more confident selection is Ajax to win by more than one goal on the Asian Handicap.

Recommended Bet: Ajax -1.5 Asian Handicap – £10 on at 1.94 to win £19.40 at 888Sport

Recommended Bet: Matthijs de Ligt to score anytime – £5 on at 9.50 to win £47.50 at 888Sport/Unibet

 az 5-0

FC Emmen vs. AZ Alkmaar

Sunday, 13:30

Another impressive performance this past week was AZ’s 5-0 drubbing of NAC Breda – this was total domination. AZ outscored NAC an amazing 29-5 on shots and 14-1 on corners and against newly promoted FC Emmen, I could not look past another pasting.

In one of the many shocks of last weekend, Emmen managed to grab a win in their first ever Eredivisie game away to ADO Den Haag by two goals to one. However, although they collected the three points, Emmen looked suspect at defending set-pieces, a trait which I feel AZ can exploit.

I feel AZ could be the team to watch this season. The midfield is crammed with young talent, Guus Til (20), Fredrik Midtsjo (25) and Teun Koopmeiners (20) are all capable of testing the goalkeeper. The full-backs are strong and creative in Thomas Ouwejan (22) and Swede Jonas Svensson (25) and experienced stalwart Ron Vlaar (33) brings the old head to the back line and a good head to set-pieces threats.

AZ to win by at least two goals is my pick. Good luck if you’re betting.

Recommended Bet: AZ -1 Asian Handicap – £10 on at 2.125 to win £21.25 at Bet365

SEASON RECORD

W2-L2

Profit – £22.00

Name-WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutchFootball.com

Champions League: Back Ajax’s Dusan Tadic to deliver knockout blow to Standard

After securing a healthy profit on the weekend’s Eredivisie games, Will Burns is on hand to try and add to the pot with his selection for the big Champions League qualification game at the Johan Cruijff Arena on tonight.

Dusan Tadic Ajax

Ajax vs. Standard Liege

Tuesday, 19:30

After dropping a 2-0 lead away in Belgium last week, Ajax host Standard Liege with hopes of clinching a slot in the next round of Champions League qualification. The Amsterdammers took a 2-0 half time lead with goals from Klass Jan Huntelaar and new summer signing Dušan Tadić.

However, Standard hit back from a Moroccan striker Mehdi Carcela-González wonder strike but Erik ten Hag’s side looked to be hanging on to take the win back to the Netherlands. Unfortunately for the travelling fans it was not to be, as in the dying seconds of stoppage time, young right-back Noussair Marzaoui was penalised for a soft foul on Moussa Djenepo in the area and Renaud Emond dispatched the resulting penalty.

This past weekend, the Eredivisie season did not get off to a perfect start for Ten Hag as his side were held to a 1-1 draw to Heracles with 19-year-old central defender Matthijs de Ligt heading home an equaliser to save the Amsterdammers’ blushes.

I’m focussing on one player for my pick, Dušan Tadić. I found it a great surprise when I read that the former Southampton winger had signed on the dotted line for Ajax this past summer. Dropping back to the Eredivisie, especially since Tadić was fifth in the Premier League last year for chances created (66) with five assists left me startled.

I rate the Serbian very highly and he’s already made his mark in this tie being involved in both goals last week in Belgium, creating Huntelaar’s opener and then smashing home an edge of the box strike to double Ajax’s lead.

I think he stands a great chance to fire in another goal against Liege who seemed to grant him a lot of space a week ago.

Recommended Bet: Dušan Tadić to score anytime – £10 on at 2.46 to win £24.60 at 888Sport/Unibet

 

CURRENT SEASON BETTING TOTALS

Bets – 3

Wins – 2

Losses -1

Profit – £32.00

Name-WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutchFootball.com

Eredivisie Team of the Week: PSV’s Gaston glows on Week One

The Eredivisie season is back and so is our Player of the Year tournament. Every week Will Burns and Steve Davies select the best 11 from that week’s action and each player is awarded one point. One member of the team will win the ‘Player of the Week’ award and be awarded two points. Check the current standings here.

Due to the fantastic performance in PSV’s emphatic 4-0 win over FC Utrecht, with a goal and assist we have awarded Gaston Pereiro the ‘Player of the Week’ award and he receives the two points.

PSV hold two other positions in the team with Denzel Dumfries and Steven Bergwijn, who notched goals themselves in the Saturday evening’s game. Heerenveen, 3-2 winners over PEC Zwolle on Friday night, have a pair in the team: Arber Zeneli and Morten Thorsby. Thorsby notched two goals before receiving a red card near the hour mark, however we felt his performance still warranted a place in the eleven. Zwolle striker Mike van Duinen notched both goals for this side in the opening game of the Eredivisie campaign.

AZ were big winners on Sunday afternoon smashing NAC Breda for five and Teun Koopmeiners was the star of the show. He is joined in the team by left-back Thomas Ouwejan, both were scorers in the 5-0 victory. Vitesse also hit five goals this past weekend (5-1 vs. FC Groningen) and Roy Beerens created one and scored one to gain a place in the team of the week.

Ajax failed on the opening day against Heracles and if it was not for Matthijs de Ligt it could have been worse. The 19-year-old defender headed home an late equaliser to spare Ajax’s blushes in a 1-1 draw.

Rounding out the team is German goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall who was unstoppable in VVV’s 1-0 over Willem II.

More next week. Remember to keep an eye on the standings of the Player of the Season tournament by clicking here.

Name-WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutchFootball.com