Tottenham Hotspur are gearing up for arguably the biggest game in the club’s recent history as they take on Ajax in the semi-finals of the Champions League in their swanky new stadium.
Spurs head into the first leg as slight favourites in what promises to be an entertaining encounter against the in-form Eredivisie leaders.
The hosts will be hoping Moussa Sissoko, who has missed the last three games with a groin strain, and Jan Vertonghen will be available for selection, while Son Heung-min is suspended.
However they are up against a young, exciting Ajax side who have had a full week’s worth of preparation, after the Eredivisie cancelled last week’s round of domestic fixtures to give the four-time winners the best chance of succeeding in Europe.
Ajax were the better of the two sides in the opening 15 minutes, and deservedly broke the deadlock when Donny van de Beek slotted past Hugo Lloris.
Tottenham XI: Lloris, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Vertonghen Trippier, Eriksen, Wanyama, Rose, Alli, Llorente, Lucas Moura.
Ajax XI: Onana, Veltman, de Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, van de Beek Schone, De Jong, Ziyech, Tadic, Neres
Follow all the action from the clash below.
26 minsminute by minute
Tottenham chance! Llorente with a free header in the penalty area after Spurs win a free-kick and the striker rises highest as the ball is whipped in by Trippier. However, he powers his header wide of the Ajax goal.
24 minsminute by minute
CHANCE! Excellent move by Ajax and they almost have a second goal by Lloris is there to make the save! Van de Beek once again with the opportunity, after a lovely series of passes on the edge of the box. Van de Beek dummies one pass and then sprints in behind the Spurs defence, with Tadic laying it through to him and he just had Lloris to beat, but the keeper makes a good stop from close range.
23 minsminute by minute
Van de Beek (22y 12d) is the third youngest Ajax goalscorer in a Champions League semi-final after Nordin Wooter (19y 237d) and Mario Melchiot (20y 170d).
21 minsminute by minute
Alderweireld shows his frustration as he dives into the back of Tadic, just inside the Tottenham half and getting nowhere near the ball. The hosts just can’t keep the ball.
19 minsminute by minute
Apart from the early couple of minutes when Tottenham had the ball, it’s been all Ajax and the visitors look eager to double their lead and get another crucial away goal.
17 minsminute by minute
Tottenham just can’t get out of their own half at the moment, they are penned back and can’t get on the ball. Ajax are keeping possession and look dangerous every time they get near the penalty area.
15 minsminute by minute
GOOOAAALLL! Ajax take the lead, it’s 1-0! Van de Beek slots the ball home into the bottom corner after finding space inside the penalty area and he has plenty of time to pick his spot with just Lloris to beat. It was excellent build-up play from the visitors, working the ball down the left wing, before coming inside and Ziyech played a lovely ball into Van de Beek, who just managed to stay onside and then provide the finish.
15 minsminute by minute
Lovely one-two touch football from Ajax and Ziyech plays a great ball through the Tottenham defence, straight into the path of Van de Beek.
13 minsminute by minute
Tottenham are just having to chase the ball, as Ajax continue to dominate possession and they are starting to get into better positions in the hosts half. Ziyech fires an effort towards goal from the edge of the box, but it blocked and then falls out wide to Neres, who is in an offside position.
15 minsSTATS
Overall Possession Ratio
Possession
11 minsminute by minute
Tottenham have won both of their previous meetings with Ajax in all competitions, winning both legs in the first round of the 1981-82 Cup Winners’ Cup (3-1 away, 3-0 at home).
9 minsminute by minute
The pace is quite slow at the moment, with Tottenham happy to allow the visitors the ball within their own half as they are struggle to get it forward towards Van de Beek and Tadic, who has barely touched the ball in the opening few minutes.
5 minsminute by minute
Ajax win their first corner of the game, after Van de Beek blocks a clearance by Sanchez and races forward, getting to the edge of the penalty area. The striker then looks to play a low ball into the box, but Sanchez gets back in time to make the block. However, Tottenham comfortably clear the first ball into the penalty area, before Ziyech fires an effort high over the crossbar.
7 minsminute by minute
Ajax have settled into the game now, spurred on by the earlier opportunity from the set piece. They are keeping the ball well inside their own half.
3 minsminute by minute
Tottenham with the early possession here, but Ajax are pressing high up the pitch and not allowing them much time and space on the ball. It looks like Spurs have started with a back three, with Trippier and Rose both pushing high up the wings.
1 minsminute by minute
Ajax have semi-final history…
The teams are out and kick-off is just a few minutes away, stay tuned for all of the match action!
Tottenham make four changes to the side that were beaten by West Ham, with Trippier, Vertonghen, Wanyama and Llorente coming into the starting XI, replacing Foyth, Davies, Dier and Son Heung-min. Spurs could line up with a back five, with Trippier and Rose as the wing-backs, or a back three, with Wanyama sitting just in front of the defence. Erik ten Hag makes just one change to his Ajax side that beat Vitesse last week, with Neres replacing Dolberg in attack.
AJAX SUBS: Bruno Varela, Daley Sinkgraven, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Noussair Mazraoui, Lisandro Magallan, Kasper Dolberg, Dani De Wit
AJAX (4-2-3-1): Andre Onana; Joel Veltman, Matthijs De Ligt, Daley Blind, Nicolas Tagliafico; Lasse Schone, Frenkie De Jong; Hakim Ziyech, Donny Van de Beek, David Neres; Dusan Tadic.
TOTTENHAM SUBS: Paulo Gazzaniga, Juan Foyth, Kyle Walker-Peters, Ben Davies, Eric Dier, Oliver Skipp, Moussa Sissoko.
TOTTENHAM (5-3-2): Hugo Lloris; Kieran Trippier, Davinson Sanchez, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Danny Rose; Victor Wanyama, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli; Lucas Moura, Fernando Llorente.
Tottenham come into the game on the back of their first defeat at their new stadium, as they suffered a 1-0 loss against West Ham on Saturday, but they still remain third in the Premier League table. Meanwhile Ajax beat Vitesse 4-2 last week and they sit top of the Eredivisie on goal difference.
Ajax last played in the Champions League semi-finals in 1996-97 and Erik ten Hag’s side have eliminated the reigning champions, Real Madrid and Italian champions Juventus in the knockout phase.
Tottenham secured a dramatic victory over Manchester City in the quarter-finals, booking their place in the semi-finals, their first appearance at this stage in the competition since 1962, when they were beaten by Benfica. Spurs beat Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16, before knocking out Pep Guardiola’s side to set up a meeting with the Dutch side.
Hello and welcome to our LIVE match commentary of the Champions League semi-final clash between Tottenham and Ajax.
A big night ahead for the hosts…
The Spurs boys are in town
Tottenham playmaker Christian Eriksen was among the players to arrive about an hour ago.
A huge game ahead for the Dane, who faces his former team tonight.
The reasons why the punters may regret backing Tottenham against rampant Ajax
Tottenham may be slight bookie’s favourites in tonight’s Champions League clash against Ajax – but betting insight experts Bookmakers.tv have warned punters to think again before backing Mauricio Pochettino’s men.
With their demolishing of European giants Juventus and Real Madrid this season, Ajax are the odds on favourites (4/5) to qualify and make their first Champions League final since 1996 – the Dutch side last made a European final in 2017 but lost 2-1 to Manchester United in the Europa League.
Worryingly for Tottenham fans, this season Ajax have scored 160 goals in all competitions and have netted in ten consecutive Champions League games – not to mention having won seven of their last eight on the road.
Despite being 6/5 favourites to win the game, defeat against West Ham and a depleted squad has seen Mauricio Pochettino’s side’s chances of progressing get that little bit tougher – while Ajax are very well priced at 5/2 to take the advantage back to Netherlands – especially given the lack of Harry Kane and Son tonight.
That price looks even better for the Dutch side given they became became the first side in Champions League history to progress from two different knockout rounds in the same campaign when failing to win their first leg at home after knocking out Juve and Real.
If there’s any consolation for Spurs fans, the north London side are also a short price (Evens) to make their first ever final in Europe’s elite competition.
