The first leg match between these two sides ended in a tight 1-1 draw. Ajax will undoubtedly be the more disappointed of the two sides as they not only failed to beat their Russian opponents, but also managed to concede an away goal.
Rostov have been in turmoil off the pitch for a number of weeks now. Kurban Berdyev, the reason for the success last season, departed a good while ago, however, having been spotted in the stands at a couple of Rostov’s previous games, he clearly still has a role at the club.
In terms of results on the pitch, Rostov have been consistent as ever. The 1-1 draw in Amsterdam was a fantastic result to take back to Olimp-2 and Dmitri Kirichenko will be confident that their excellent home record (continued with another win to nil at the weekend) will help them to finish the job.
Ajax are not the force they once were and have disappointed on the continent in recent seasons. Additionally, the start to the 2016/17 Eredivisie has not gone according to plan and they have failed to win since August 7th, this puts them 8th after three games and already five points off Feyenoord and top spot.
Furthermore, with rumours of goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen moving to Barcelona, things are not looking good for Ajax right now.
Peter Bosz’s Ajax side really needed to secure a victory with a clean sheet to have a good chance of progression into the Champions League group stages.
Rostov’s pragmatic style of play is very well suited to these sorts of occasion and this, as well as their excellent home record, should see them come out on top on Wednesday night.
The odds are actually relatively close on both sides but I think punters should be putting something on Rostov at 7/4.
I would also advise ‘Rostov to win to nil’ at 3/1. As previously mentioned, Kirichenko’s side are superb at home and do not concede many goals and I think they will be able to stop Ajax on Wednesday.
If you are feeling a little less risky then you should go with ‘Rostov to qualify’ at 4/5. Rostov already have the away goal in the bank and, as previously mentioned, should be able to stop Ajax in this fixture.
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