At A Glance
Aston Villa and Ajax go head-to-head in the Europa Conference League Round of 16 first leg on Thursday evening.
After topping Group E with four wins from six games, including two against fellow Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, Villa now face a knockout tie against the Netherlands’ most successful club.
Unai Emery’s team are flying high domestically and have racked up three straight wins ahead of their trip to Amsterdam.
Ajax are one of the biggest names in European football, but they have endured a rocky campaign thus far.
They finished third in their Europa League group and had to rely on an extra-time goal to beat Bodø/Glimt in the play-off round to reach this stage.
Ajax were bottom of the Eredivisie table after eight matches but have recovered under the leadership of John van ‘t Schip to mount a challenge for a top four finish.
European Pedigree
Ajax are the sixth-most decorated club when it comes to winning European Cups, displaying four of the continent’s top honour in their trophy cabinet.
Three of those titles came in the space of three seasons in the early 1970s as the Dutch side became the dominant force in Europe, led by legendary playmaker Johan Cruijff. (Their 1971 triumph is pictured above).
In 1995, shortly after the tournament was renamed the Champions League, Ajax secured another crown, beating AC Milan with a late goal from 18-year-old Patrick Kluivert.
Louis van Gaal led the club to a UEFA Super Cup a few months later and that remains their last European trophy.
The four European Cups stand beside two Super Cups, a European Cup Winners’ Cup and a UEFA Cup, which was won in 1992.
More recently, Ajax’s last European final saw them lose out to Manchester United in the Europa League in 2017.
The Last Meeting
The first and only meeting between the clubs came back in 2008 when the sides did battle in Group F of the UEFA Cup.
Martin Laursen headed home Ashley Young’s corner to give the hosts an early lead.
Ajax responded with a headed goal of their own via Thomas Vermaelen, who nodded in Urby Emanuelson’s corner.
Gareth Barry was in the right place to net the winner, turning home Young’s cut back from just inside the penalty area.
Form Guide
Ajax ended a run of four league matches without a win when they overcame FC Utrecht 2-0 on Sunday.
The Amsterdam side had drawn two and lost two in their winless run, including a 2-0 defeat to an AZ Alkmaar team who Villa have faced in the Conference League this season.
The clean sheet against Utrecht was significant for Ajax given their last shutout came back in November during a 5-0 crushing of Vitesse.
Ajax have switched from a 4-3-3 to a 3-4-2-1 for their past two Eredivisie matches, winning one and losing one.
The Bosses
“Ajax have all my respect, they are an historic club, they’ve had great experiences in Europe. Now, maybe, three or four years ago they were playing in the semi-finals of the Champions League and they were very close to playing in the final. They are always promoting a lot of young players, exploiting talent a lot here. They have sold a lot of players before, being successful with them. Now, I assume they are going to play with young players, maybe in the next year, or two years or in the future they are going to be very important players. My respect is because I think they are not having a very consistent season this year but they are progressively getting better.” – Unai Emery
“You only have to look at their place in the Premier League – they are fourth – to know they are very strong. In a lot of ways, it’s just a good team. They are defensively strong and have experience. In addition, they have speed and are dangerous when play restarts. They can be constructive but also very direct. We will have to play very focused. If we lose the ball in places where we are vulnerable, it can become very dangerous.” – John van ‘t Schip
