Loose out for Ajax?
The group stage of the current Champions League could not have gone any better for Ajax Amsterdam. After four match days, the “Godenzonen” are at the top of the table in Group C and have even punched their ticket to the last 16 early with their recent win against BVB.
Now the Dutch record champions want to clinch the group victory. The upcoming away match in Istanbul will be particularly important in this regard, as even a minimal point would be enough to secure the group win.
The guests from Amsterdam are the clear favourites at BJK’s Vodafone Park. The bookmakers’ assessment is by no means surprising. Besiktas have lost all four group games so far and conceded as many as twelve goals. It is therefore obvious that the next defeat will follow on Wednesday evening.
Besiktas Istanbul have lost all their competitive matches against Ajax on the international stage so far. It would therefore be all the more surprising if the Black Eagles, in their current form – BJK have lost four games in a row – were to score at home against the Dutch record champions.
Besiktas – statistics & current form
Before the international break with a bitter defeat in the top match against Trabzonspor, the next setback followed for Besiktas last weekend. The defending champions from Istanbul lost their away match in Alanya and thus slipped further down the table. The Black Eagles are now only in ninth place.
Besiktas Istanbul have lost five of their 13 matches in the Turkish top flight. In comparison: In the whole of last season, there were only eight defeats after 40 match days in the Turkish top flight. This makes it rather unrealistic for Besiktas to defend their title. On the other hand, the Black and Whites are about to change their coach.
Sergen Yalcin, club icon of the Black Eagles, has become a scapegoat after the championship season. Senol Günes, who coached the black-and-whites from Istanbul from 2015 to 2019 and celebrated a total of two championships with BJK, is likely to be his successor.
Lightning knockout in the top division
Although Besiktas invested a lot in the squad in the summer and even brought star players like Miralem Pjanic to the Bosphorus – even if only on loan – the first half of the season in the Turkish top flight has been mixed so far. BJK has been particularly disappointing on the international stage. After four matchdays, Besiktas are at the bottom of Group C. The Black Eagles have no chance of winning.
Mathematically, the Black Eagles no longer have a chance of reaching the last 16. For third place, the black and whites from Istanbul need a small miracle two matchdays before the end of the group stage. After all, BJK have to win their last two group games and also hope for some help from the shooting gallery.
In the top flight, the traditional club from Istanbul has lost its last six games in a row. They have conceded a total of 20 goals in this period – an average of 3.30 goals conceded per game. Because BJK have lost every competitive match against Ajax so far, it stands to reason that the recent negative streak will continue on Wednesday night.
BJK coach Sergen Yalcin will probably only have to do without Batshuayi and Souza against the Dutch record champions. There are no other absentees for the hosts from Istanbul.
Predicted line-up of Besiktas:
Destanoglu – Yilmaz, Vida, Welinton, Rosier – Topal – Larin, Pjanic, Hutchinson, Ghezzal – Batshuayi
Last matches played by Besiktas:
Süper Lig
11/20 2021 – Alanyaspor 2 – 0 Beşiktaş
Friendly club matches
11/11 2021 – Beşiktaş 3 – 0 Shkupi
Süper Lig
11/06 2021 – Beşiktaş 1 – 2 Trabzonspor
Champions League Grp. C
11/03 2021 – Sporting CP 4 – 0 Beşiktaş
Süper Lig
10/30 2021 – Hatayspor 1 – 0 Beşiktaş
Ajax Amsterdam – Statistics & current form
Ajax have already warmed up ahead of their away game in Istanbul with an impressive win in the Eredivisie. The “Godenzonen” won 5-0 against league rivals RKC Waalwijk last weekend. This was a successful dress rehearsal before the match against BJK.
The Dutch record holders now want to seal the group win in the top flight and only need one point in the Bosphorus to do so. Considering how strong the “Godenzonen” have been in recent weeks, it would be more than surprising if that point was missed on Wednesday evening.
Ajax are unbeaten in seven matches in a row across all competitions. During this period, the Amsterdam club has kept a clean sheet six times. Only against BVB did they concede a goal in their last group match in the top flight. However, Ajax Amsterdam scored three goals in the process.
Will Ajax roll over BJK?
Aim to continue their recent form against their favourite opponents from Istanbul – Ajax have a 100% win ratio against BJK. Head coach Erik ten Hag is likely to forego rotation and start the match at the Turkish representative with his best line-up. Compared to the starting eleven that was last in action against RKC Waalwijk, no major changes are expected.
Sébastien Haller is currently the top scorer for the “Godenzonen”. Across all competitions, the 27-year-old already has 16 goals and five assists in a total of 17 appearances. Last weekend, Haller scored another brace and was one of the key success factors in the Dutch attack.
It is quite possible that Haller will also score against BJK. The ex-Frankfurt player already scored against Besiktas in the first half of the season. Betting fans who want to make a prediction on Sébastien Haller scoring a goal against Besiktas vs. Ajax Amsterdam can currently pick up decent odds in the event of success.
Ajax Amsterdam line-up prediction:
Pasveer – Blind, Martinez, Timber, Mazraoui – Alvarez, Gravenberch – Tadic, Berghuis, Antony – Haller
Last matches played by Ajax Amsterdam:
Eredivisie
11/21 2021 – RKC Waalwijk 0 – 5 Ajax Amsterdam
11/07 2021 – Ajax Amsterdam 0 – 0 Go Ahead Eagles
Champions League Grp. C
11/03 2021 – Borussia Dortmund 1 – 3 Ajax Amsterdam
Eredivisie
10/30 2021 – Heracles Almelo 0 – 0 Ajax Amsterdam
10/24 2021 – Ajax Amsterdam 5 – 0 PSV Eindhoven
Besiktas – Ajax Amsterdam Direct comparison / H2H record
This is the sixth time the two clubs have met on the international stage. Ajax have won five out of five competitive matches against BJK so far. In the last two games, Ajax Amsterdam even went without conceding a goal against Besiktas. The last time the “Godenzonen” won in Istanbul was in the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1993/94.
Ajax won 4-0 away to the Black Eagles of Istanbul in the second leg, eliminating the heavyweight from Istanbul from the competition. Besiktas have only lost more competitive matches on the international stage against Dynamo Kiev (6) than against Ajax Amsterdam (5).
Besiktas – Ajax Amsterdam Tip
Besiktas are still in free fall. The Black Eagles from Istanbul have suffered a total of eight defeats in their last ten competitive matches. Most recently, BJK lost four games in a row, including the most recent away defeat in Alanya. In their current form crisis, BJK now face a home match against Ajax in the top flight.
Besiktas’ Wednesday opponents are currently in fine form and have already qualified for the last 16. Now there is even a chance for the Dutch record champions to secure the group victory early. To do so, the “Godenzonen” need just a single point in Istanbul.
As Ajax already celebrated an impressive victory in the league, we do not rule out the next show of power by the Dutch in Istanbul. The last time the “Godenzonen” visited BJK, Ajax Amsterdam won 4:0 away at the former “Inönü Stadi” of BJK. We do not rule out a similar result on Wednesday evening.
Our tip for Besiktas vs Ajax Amsterdam is “HT/FT: 2/2” at good odds. We are betting a total of seven units on this match.
