With their key attacking players suspended or injured, Al Hain-Cole expects Spurs to keep things tight in a defensive display against ten Hag’s men
Tottenham will be hoping for another famous Champions League night at the new stadium when Ajax come to town in Wednesday’s semi-final first leg.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men pulled off an impressive 1-0 home victory over Manchester City in the last round, setting them up to progress on away goals after a 4-4 aggregate score.
Latest odds
Having won both previous encounters against this opposition in the 1981-82 Cup Winners’ Cup, they are priced at 29/20 (2.45) with Fortebet to set themselves up for a first ever final appearance by coming out on top here.
However, the Eredivisie outfit have pulled off away wins over Real Madrid and Juventus in the last two rounds, and are priced at 15/8 (2.88) to take control of the tie with another memorable victory in London.
The hosts have not drawn any of their last 14 Champions League fixtures in front of their own fans, but you can get odds of 12/5 (3.40) on them being held to a stalemate in this one.
Team news
Son Heung-min is a major loss as he sits this game out due to suspension, with Serge Aurier, Harry Winks, Erik Lamela, and Harry Kane all ruled out due to injury. Moussa Sissoko faces a late fitness test.
Noussair Mazraoui should be fit to play after recovering from the ankle injury he sustained in the second leg against Juventus, leaving reserve players Hassane Bande and Carel Eiting as the only absentees.
Defensive Spurs
Considering the key attacking talent missing from their squad, Spurs are likely to focus on keeping at bay an opponent that has proved extremely dangerous on the road.
Having found the net just once in the last three matches, they will certainly be up against it should the game turn into an open, end-to-end encounter.
Predictions
Instead, odds of 10/11 (1.91) look like a solid bet on a Tottenham team that has conceded just once in five home matches at the new ground keeping the scoreline to under 2.5 goals against Frank ten Hag’s side.
