Ajax vs Aston Villa

Johan Cruyff Arena is the venue as Ajax and Aston Villa go head-to-head in the first leg of their blockbuster Europa League last-16 tie.

Four-time European champions Ajax squeaked past Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League knockout playoff round, claiming a 4-3 aggregate win after netting two stoppage-time goals to secure a 2-2 first-leg draw at home. However, their path to glory faces another stern challenge, particularly amid a woeful run of just two wins from their last seven outings across all competitions (D3, L2). While they can take confidence from a 2-0 home league victory against Utrecht at the weekend, the Lancers have stuttered against English opponents of late, losing their last five such fixtures in Amsterdam. On top of that, they failed to find the net in four of those five matches. As if that’s not worrying enough, John van ‘t Schip’s men have only won two of their last ten home games in European competition (D3, L5).

In the meantime, Aston Villa steamrolled to a top-table finish in their Europa League group (W4, D1, L1) to reach the continental knockout stages for the first time since the 2008/09 UEFA Cup season. Unai Emery’s high-performing men will touch down in Amsterdam in high spirits after racking up a three-game winning run in the Premier League to solidify their top-four bid. Moreover, they’re no strangers to winning on Dutch soil, having thumped AZ Alkmaar 4-1 in this season’s Europa League group stages to maintain a 100% win ratio against clubs from the Netherlands (W3). That rampant performance contributed to Aston Villa’s superb 12-goal tally in four European away fixtures this term. Adding to Villa’s confidence, they’re unbeaten across their last six competitive travels (W4, D2).