Ajax v Chelsea: free football tips, best bets, predictions & where to watch

Football tips, best bets and predictions for Ajax v Chelsea in Champions League Group H.

Where to watch

BT Sport 3, 5.55pm Wednesday

Best bet

Ajax
1pt 7-5 Betfred
Back this tip with bet365 here

Team news

Ajax
Erik ten Hag has a full squad to choose from.

Chelsea
Antonio Rudiger is sidelined along with Ross Barkley. N'Golo Kante could feature and Emerson Palmieri is a doubt.

Match preview

Ajax relished playing the role of the underdog in last season's Champions League and Chelsea should underestimate the dynamic Dutch at their peril in Amsterdam.

Erik ten Hag's men progressed to the semi-finals of last season's competition, overcoming Real Madrid and Juventus on the way, and have picked up where they left off in this campaign.

Group H opened as one of the fiercest betting heats but Ajax have been installed as 4-6 favourites to top the section after swatting aside Lille 3-0 at home and dismantling Valencia by the same scoreline at the Mestalla.

The regenerative qualities of the club are to be admired. Despite the loss of Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong for a combined €150 million this summer, they still have the look of a team who can go deep in the competition.

In-demand winger Hakim Ziyech has looked sharp and is ably supported on the other flank by new signing Quincy Promes, who already has two goals to his name in the Champions League this season.

Donny van de Beek pulls the strings in midfield while the versatile Lisandro Martinez looks like the next big thing playing in either an anchor role or at centre-back.

Their Eredivisie record of eight wins, two draws and 31 goals scored with only seven conceded is impressive but it will be their performances on the continent which will worry the Blues.

They were happy to concede possession away to Valencia and predominantly attacked down the flanks on the break, utilising the pace and trickery of Ziyech and Promes, and that could be key to cutting through Chelsea's rearguard.

The away side's aerial threat is minimised by the absence of Antonio Rudiger, while the attacking nature of Chelsea wing-backs Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso should leave Ajax plenty of space out wide.

Chelsea have won five on the spin since defeat to Liverpool but those games have been against Grimsby, Brighton, Lille, Southampton and Newcastle - hardly teams on the same level as Ajax in the final third.

The Blues are still shaky at the back, having conceded 14 goals in nine Premier League matches this season, which is 3.94 more than their expected goals against.

There is uncertainty over the fitness of N'Golo Kante and if he does feature, Chelsea's chief midfield operator is likely to be less effective than usual.

Getting points on the board early is crucial in a group as tight as this but the Blues may have to eye the reverse fixture as a better chance of victory and punters should back them to leave the Dutch capital pointless.

Key stat

Ajax have scored at least two goals in five of their last seven home Champions League games.

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