Ajax vs Union Berlin prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2023-02-15 17:45.
Ajax prepare to play in the UEFA Europa League (UEL) knockout phase for a competition-record tenth time and will welcome a Union Berlin side who are getting their very first taste of knockout European football! It hasn’t been smooth sailing for the Amsterdam outfit since Erik ten Hag left as Alfred Schreuder oversaw a seven-game winless run of league games before his eventual sacking last month.
Since then, Johnny Heitinga has taken the reins to great effect, winning all four of his games in charge to remain within striking distance of the Eredivisie peak. Attention now swiftly turns to Europe after a third-place Champions League group stage finish booked their UEL play-off berth, with Ajax hoping to build on their solid all-time record against German opponents in search of progression (W23, D7, L8).
In stark contrast, Union seek their first ever positive result against Dutch opponents after a pair of defeats against Feyenoord last season. Urs Fischer’s men look well placed to do exactly that after maintaining their perfect 2023 competitive record (W6) with a 2-1 win at Leipzig at the weekend, a victory which kept them just one point in arrears of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich as they strive for a maiden top-flight title.
Tight margins are often the order of the day for Union as four of their last five victories came by a 2-1 scoreline, whilst three of those wins came after conceding the opener! A similar level of curious consistency was seen in their UEL group stage as all six games ended with a 1-0 scoreline either way (W4, L2), highlighting the Iron Ones’ steely determination.
Players to watch: Mohammed Kudus contributed to six of Ajax’s 11 group stage goals (G4, A2) and hasn’t slowed up his progress since then, finding the net in four of his last five competitive appearances. Similarly, Union’s Robin Knoche contributed to three of their four group stage goals (G2, A1) and found the net in two of their last three domestic victories.
Hot stat: Ajax have progressed from ten of their previous 12 two-legged UEFA ties against German opponents.