Our prediction for this Champions League match:
APOEL Nicosia
Match Time & Date:
20/08/2019
03:00 PM
Prediction: 1-2
Ajax
A place in the Champions League group stages will be at stake when APOEL and Ajax face each other in a highly-anticipated two-legged tie. The Amsterdammers set up a meeting with the Cypriotes by beating Greek champions PAOK in the 3rd qualifying round and they are seen as hot favourites to win Tuesday’s football game at Neo GSP.
Despite the fact that Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt left the club in the summer transfer window, we believe that away win should be considered. One of the men to watch in the Dutch team will be Serbia international Dusan Tadic, who scored a brace in the 3-2 win over PAOK at Amsterdam Arena. APOEL, on the other hand, did well to shock Qarabag in Azerbaijan, but given the number of talented footballers in the away team, we do not believe that the hosts are capable of claiming a major scalp in the final qualifying round.
Highlighted Player (Vid Belec):
Vid Belec is a 192-cm-tall goalkeeper, who was born in Maribor, Slovenia on June 6, 1990. Belec played for his home-town club Maribor at youth level and in 2007 he joined Italian side Internazionale.
However, the Slovenian shot-stopper did not see any game action in the Serie A during his spell at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza and it has to be noted that he played for the likes of Crotone, Olhanense and Konyaspor on loan before joining Carpi in 2015. After making 56 appearances for the Biancorossi in the league, Vid Belec moved to Benevento in July, 2017, signing a three-year deal with the Serie A team.
Belec made his debut for Slovenia national football team on June 7, 2014 in a 2-0 loss to Argentina. The Slovenian goalkeeper managed to keep 13 clean sheets for Benevento in the 2016/2017 Serie B campaign and, no doubt, he helped the club secure promotion to the Italian top flight.
Highlighted Team (Ajax):
Ajax is a Dutch football club that was founded on 18 March, 1900. Ajax are well known for their youth academy, which regarded as one of the best youth football schools in the world. The likes of Johan Cruijff, Edwin van der Sar, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Kluivert, Rafael van der Vaart and Marco van Basten are all products of Ajax’s football academy. The Amsterdammers share a big rivalry with Feyenoord and there have always been fireworks when the two teams face each other in De Klassieker.
During the seventies Feyenoord and Ajax were the only two teams who were capable of winning the domestic trophies, while PSV have been playing an important role in Dutch football in the 21st century. PSV and Ajax are regarded as big rivals as well and the two teams square off against each other in De Topper. Ajax play their home games at Amsterdam ArenA, the stadium that was opened on 14 August, 1996. The Amsterdammers won their fourth European Cup (Champions League) trophy in 1995, beating Milan in the title game in Vienna.
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