Ajax vs Galatasaray Prediction: Lions to pounce on vulnerable hosts

Ajax will go in search of their first win in this season’s Uefa Champions League when they welcome Galatasaray to the Johan Cruyff Arena on Wednesday night (20:00 GMT, TNT Sports 8). The Dutch giants have struggled in the first few months of the season, languishing in fourth in the Eredivisie, a full eight points behind league leaders Feyenoord.

In Europe, John Heitinga’s side are yet to pick up a point from their first three matches, while Galatasaray have raised a few eyebrows after an impressive start. Read on for my Ajax vs Galatasaray predictions, aided by the latest team news and match odds

Team News

Ajax’s Kenneth Taylor is suspended after he was sent off just 17 minutes into last month’s 5-1 defeat at Chelsea.

Steven Berghuis, Kasper Dolberg and Branco van den Boomen are all still in the treatment room and will not feature on Wednesday.

Football Odds

Galatasaray defender Davinson Sanchez is set to return to the starting XI after serving a domestic suspension, but midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is expected to miss the contest due to a calf issue.

Ajax vs Galatasaray Odds

Ajax are as big as 9/4 to win despite having home advantage, while the draw is available at 3/1, and Galatasaray are 21/20 favourites. Over 2.5 goals is 4/9, while both teams to score can be backed at 2/5.

Galatasaray duo Victor Osimhen and Mauro Icardi are both expected to find the back of the net, with the pair available at 5/6 and 11/10 respectively to score anytime.

Galatasaray to win @ 23/20

Okan Buruk’s Galatasaray deserve plenty of praise after turning their Champions League campaign around. The Turkish giants started their European adventure with a 5-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt, but they have since responded to beat Liverpool 1-0 and Bodo/Glimt 3-1 on home soil.

Galatasaray have failed to win any of their six European away games since the start of last season, but it is hard to see Ajax keeping them at bay.

Heitinga’s side have only won one of their last six games in all competitions, while they have registered just one victory across their last four on home soil.

Ajax have conceded 11 goals so far in the competition, and while the likes of Inter Milan, Marseille and Chelsea are all considered to be more dangerous than Galatasaray, the hosts have not done enough domestically to suggest they are well prepared for this encounter.

Today's Football Fixtures

Victor Osimhen to score anytime @ 9/10

These two sides have only met once before, and that came last season, with Ajax edging to a 2-1 success in the Europa League.

Striker Osimhen scored for Galatasaray on that occasion, and he has netted in seven successive European matches, striking nine times in total during that impressive sequence.

He continues to prove he can do the business on the big stage, and he should be able to fire Galatasaray to victory.

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