Ajax vs Chelsea 24/10/19

24 October 2019

Ajax and Chelsea go head-to-head in the UEFA Champions League (CL) Group H at the Johan Cruijff Arena, with the home side looking to improve their disappointing record against the London visitors in Amsterdam (W1, D1, L3).

The hosts have been a force to be reckoned with under manager Erik ten Hag, winning both of their opening CL matches via the same 3-0 scoreline. Interestingly, last season’s semi-finalists won two of three home matches in the group stage in the 2018/19 CL campaign (W2, D1), but they failed to pick up a single win in three home outings in the knockout phase (D1, L2). Five of seven of Ajax’s previous CL home games have produced over 2.5 goals while four witnessing both teams score. The Lancers have been impressive this season, as they come into this meeting looking to maintain their unbeaten start in all competitions to 18 straight games, CL play-offs included (W13, D4).

Meanwhile, the visitors travel to Amsterdam in the midst of a purple patch, having racked up a five-game winning streak across all competitions. Importantly for Franck Lampard, his leaky defense has shown signs of improvement, as they’ve limited their opponents to a maximum of one goal per match each time during that run. A 1-0 home loss to Valencia in the Group H curtain-raiser has brought Chelsea’s 15-game unbeaten European run to a halt (W12, D3). It was also the first time since a 3-0 loss to Barcelona in March 2018 that the Blues have failed to find the net in European competition. However, they’ve managed to bounce back swiftly, securing a tight 2-1 away win over Lille last time out to bring their tally to 38 goals scored in their last 17 European outings.