One of the most exciting ties in the Europa League this season concludes on Thursday night as Ajax meet Lille at the Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam.
This is a meeting between the current top team in Holland and the top team in France, so it should be a great game to watch.
Ajax come into the match having secured a 2-1 victory in the first leg at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy. It appeared as though the game was going to end 0-0 and then we saw a flurry of goals in the final 18 minutes.
Lille opened the scoring but it was Ajax who came away with the victory having scored two goals in the final 3 minutes of the match.
Ajax recorded a 4-2 victory at home over Sparta Rotterdam on the weekend and that result means they have won each of their last 10 matches in all competitions and are undefeated in their 15 most recent games.
Ajax started their European campaign in the Champions League and finished third in Group D behind Liverpool and Atalanta.
Their home record in the Europa League is good and Ajax have won 8 of their last 9 on home soil. They have scored 2 or more goals in 6 of their last 8 at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
Lille will be extremely disappointed to come into this match with a 2-1 deficit from the home leg. Having opened the scoring in the 72nd minute, it appeared as though the French club were going to go on to win the game.
However, they allowed Ajax back into the match and having conceded an equaliser in the 87th minute, they went on to concede another goal in the 89th minute to lose the match.
Therefore, Lille face a tough task to overturn the current score but they should have plenty of confidence considering their results in Ligue 1 this season.
A victory on the weekend means Lille are currently 3 points clear at the top of the table and are undefeated in 9 of their last 10 games in all competitions.
Lille were drawn in Group H of the Europa League this season and finished second in the group behind AC Milan. They managed to pick up two away victories in the group and scored 2 or more goals in each of their 3 away group games.
In Lille’s last 3 Europa League games there have been over 2.5 goals scored.
Team news and Ajax should be at full strength for this match. They have no injury or suspension concerns ahead of the game.
Lille could be without Burak Yilmaz who is recovering from a calf injury. The Turk is the only player unavailable for the French club.
Lille have to attack and score goals if they are to progress in the Europa League this season. That should mean we are in for an exciting game, with both teams scoring.
However, Ajax have the advantage and could hit the visitors on the break to score the goals and win the match.