Ajax vs Eintracht Frankfurt Prediction: European giants may have to settle for a draw

The last 16 of the Europa League is upon us and there are several juicy ties to get stuck into in Uefa's second tier of competition, and this clash between Ajax and Eintracht Frankfurt (20:00, live on TNT Sports 2) looks of particular interest.

Read on for my Ajax vs Eintracht Frankfurt predictions, as well as the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Ajax were once part of the cream of Europe and they are dripping in continental success having won four Uefa European Cups, one Europa League and one Cup Winners' Cup.

Eintracht can't quite match those feats but they have been successful more recently than the Dutch giants having won this competition in the 2021/22 campaign.

That was the second time they had lifted this trophy but both sides will fancy their chances of claiming the prize this term, so an entertaining contest can be expected at the Johan Cruyff Arena on Thursday.

Team News

The Ajax treatment room is busy with Owen Wijndal, Youri Regeer, Christian Rasmussen and Wout Weghorst set to miss out this week.

Influential midfielder Davy Klaasen is suspended for Thursday's first leg after being shown a straight red card in last month's knockout round playoff against Union St-Gilloise.

Experienced goalkeeper Remko Pasveer will return to the side with Braga loanee Matheus ineligible for European action.

As for Eintracht, defender Timothy Chandler is sidelined with a thigh injury and will take no part in the trip to Amsterdam.

The injured Igor Matanovic has been left out of Frankfurt's Europa League squad, while Oscar Hojlund has also been omitted from the continental competition squad.

Michy Batshuayi, Arthur Theate and Elye Wahi are included and the latter pair should make the starting line-up this week.

Ajax vs Eintracht Frankfurt Odds

Ajax are warm favourites at 6/4 for victory, with Eintracht Frankfurt 7/4 to pick up their sixth victory in this competition this term. The draw is 13/5 but these two were involved in just one stalemate each in their combined 16 matches in the league phase.

The pair have never met before in a competitive match.

Draw & both teams to score @ 3/1

Eintracht Frankfurt finished fifth in the league phase and they can continue that good form by at least avoiding defeat this week.

However, they head to Amsterdam following two Bundesliga drubbings to temper enthusiasm about them winning Thursday's showdown with Ajax.

A 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich was followed by a 4-1 home thumping by German champions Bayer Leverkusen, but those two sides are among the cream of the continent, which is something that can't be said of Ajax these days despite their illustrious history.

Ajax won four of their eight league-phase fixtures, losing three and drawing once, so it is hard to be too bullish about their chances either.

With that in mind, backing a high-scoring draw may be the best course of action.

Hugo Ekitike to score at anytime @ 6/4

Hugo Ekitike has scored 18 goals in 34 matches for Eintracht Frankfurt this term and the French forward is worth a bet to continue his rich vein of form with a goal at the Johan Cruyff Arena on Thursday.

Ekitike has bagged seven goals in his last ten outings for the German side and a wager on the 22-year-old is likely to be aided by the fact he is likely to be on penalty kicks for the German side.

Eintracht Frankfurt have lost some of their cutting edge since Omar Marmoush's move to Manchester City, but they have found a reliable replacement in Ekitike who was a constant source of goals even before the Egyptian's departure.

Ekitike's latest goal came as a consolation in the 4-1 loss at Leverkusen last Saturday, so he is clearly in good nick and able to make his mark against even the best defences. Ajax lack such an impact player.

Offers

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