Europa League Quali, 2nd round, first leg, Thursday, 25.07.2024 at 20:30
Ajax Amsterdam experienced a truly horrendous year last season with numerous low points. The record champions were at least able to console themselves with 5th place at the end of the season.
This means that the “Godenzonen” can compete in the Europa League from the second qualifying round and can hope to reach the group stage. The first leg against Serbian representative FK Vojvodina Novi Sad will take place on Thursday in the Johan Cruijff Arena at home.
The betting odds clearly favor the home side in this match. I also come to the same conclusion and play the bet “Victory Ajax with HC-1” at odds of 1.40 with provider Betano in my Ajax Amsterdam Vojvodina betting tip
Although Ajax were certainly not the figurehead of the Eredivisie last season, the squad is still currently worth over €256 million.
This explains, among other things, the clear starting position in the Ajax Amsterdam Vojvodina prediction. Because the Serbian representative can only raise a value of 18 million euros with its squad
So the home side are the heavy favorites in the first leg on Thursday at the best bookmakers with low odds of a maximum of 1.19. On the other hand, a win for the visitors will bring you up to 15 times the betting stake.
The bookmakers also expect many goals. As a look at the Oddset app shows, the odds for the “Over 2.5 goals” bet are just 1.33. A bet on over 3.5 goals is more attractive here, with odds of 1.83, while over 3.5 goals is quoted a touch higher (1.87).
In May 2019, Ajax narrowly missed out on a place in the Champions League final against Tottenham. The club then hit rock bottom in the 2023/24 season.
The downward trend began with the dismissal of sporting director Marc Overmars and the departure of successful coach Erik ten Hag. This was followed by chaos in the boardroom, which also made itself felt on the pitch.
Amsterdam suffered numerous low points in the past season. Last fall, the club plummeted to the bottom of the table for the first time in its history.
They were also knocked out of the cup against fourth-tier amateur club Hercules from Utrecht. Under new coach John van’t Schip, things started to look up again in the meantime
But then, in April, they suffered their heaviest defeat against their arch-rivals with a 6-0 loss at Feyenoord. With three wins and two draws from the last five games, Ajax still managed to finish in fifth place.
This year, Alex Kroes is to bring order back to the club as technical director. In addition, 35-year-old Italian Francesco Farioli has been appointed as the new head coach.
Things have been fairly quiet on the transfer market so far. Last season, most of the players in the squad, with the exception of wingers Steven Bergwijn and Steven Berghuis, were only around 20 years old.
In five test matches, Amsterdam showed good early form with four victories, including a 2-1 win over Glasgow Rangers and a 1-0 win over Olympiakos Piraeus, and only one defeat.
With two championships, FK Vojvodina are number four in Serbia behind the three clubs from Belgrade (Red Star, Partizan and OFK). However, the last league title for the “Old Lady” dates back to 1989.
In recent years, the “Tulips” have won the national cup twice (2014, 2020). Last season, the club from Novi Sad finished in fourth place.
However, coach Bozidar Bandović’s team were pretty much beaten. They were already 14 points behind third place. In the end, they were even 35 points behind champions Red Star.
The team had conceded seven of their ten defeats away from home. The Serbian Super League kicked off the new 2024/25 season last weekend
FKV got off to a good start with a 3:1 win at newly promoted Tekstilac Odzaci. The visitors had even led by three goals until shortly before the end, but conceded the home side’s consolation goal in the 90th minute.
The club’s success in the European Cup has been very limited so far. The Whites and Reds have never qualified for a UEFA group stage. They have reached the Europa League play-offs three times.
However, they lost to Sheriff Tiraspol (2013/14), Viktoria Pilzen (2015/16) and AZ Alkmaar (2016/17). Since the 2017/18 season, Vojvodina have only made four international appearances, only making it through one round.
The record here is two wins and five defeats. The comparison with LASK was particularly bitter in 2021/22, when they lost 1:0 and 1:6. Last year, they were knocked out by APOEL (1:2, 1:2)
The two clubs will meet for the first time on Thursday. Vojvodina have also only played against a club from the Netherlands once before. As previously mentioned, their opponents in the Europa League play-offs in the 2016/17 season were AZ Alkmaar.
After a 3-0 defeat at home in the first leg, the men from Novi Sad only managed a 0-0 draw away from home in the second leg. Although Ajax have a long history in the European Cup, they have only met a team from Serbia once before.
In the 2008/09 season, Amsterdam won both games against Borac Cacak in the first round of the UEFA Cup (4:1, 2:0).
Conclusion: Ajax are licking their wounds this year. However, new coach Farioli is benefiting from the development work carried out by his predecessor at the end of last season.
The results from the preparations also indicate that Amsterdam is slowly getting back on track. How the record champions will fare in the Eredivisie is still uncertain.
But the omens for the first competitive match of the new season look quite good. FK Vojvodina, who are simply a small light in Europe, should be a good opening opponent.
In the end, we believe that the home side will win clearly in front of their own fans. My betting tip for the Ajax Amsterdam Vojvodina game is therefore: Victory Ajax with HC-1!
