Champions League and Europa League qualifiers betting preview & free tips

From 6pm Tuesday

Ajax were only seconds away from reaching last year's Champions League final but the Dutch champions will have to progress through two qualifying rounds to make it back into the main draw of the competition.

They have been handed a tricky tie against Greek double winners PAOK Salonika who went unbeaten as they won their first title in 34 years last season, racking up 26 wins and four draws in 30 league matches.

Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong have departed but Ajax have held on to Donny van de Beek, Hakim Ziyech and Dusan Tadic for the time being, and remain a fearsome attacking force.

They opened their Eredivisie campaign at the weekend with a 2-2 draw against Vitesse, piling up 26 attempts on goal but they may prove vulnerable at the back while new signing Lisandro Martinez settles in.

PAOK haven't started their domestic campaign, but they have prepared for this tie with a training camp in Holland culminating in a 5-1 friendly victory over Eredivisie side Fortuna Sittard.

Ex-Arsenal striker Chuba Akpom bagged four there, and the hosts will fancy their chances of getting on the scoresheet at least.

In the Europa League, Northern Irish side Linfield face an awkward assignment against Montenegrin champions FC Sutjeska.

Linfield edged past Faroese outfit HB Torshavn 3-2 on aggregate in the last round, but may find things tougher against Sutjeska, who drop into this competition having eliminated Slovan Bratislava from Champions League qualifying before falling to Apoel Nicosia.

Recommendations
Both teams to score in PAOK v Ajax
2pts 10-11 bet365, Betway, RedZone
Sutjeska
1pt Evens Betway, Coral, Ladbrokes

Bet on these games at Soccerbase.com

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport