Off to a winning start in their latest continental quest, Ajax head to Serbia to reunite with FK Vojvodina in the second leg of their Europa League second qualifying round contest on Thursday.
Francesco Farioli's men left it late to eke out to a 1-0 triumph in last week's opening battle, although the former Champions League winners arguably should have been out of sight in the first half.
Match preview
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After 45 minutes of last week's opening contest between Ajax and Vojvodina, the Amsterdam powerhouses had already fired an astounding eight shots on target, their highest tally on record in a European game since data became available in 2014-15.
However, none of Ajax's efforts were good enough to breach the Serbians' goal, and not until the 86th minute would the Eredivisie outfit finally make their dominance count, as super sub Branco van den Boomen met Mika Godts's cross and headed in the critical goal.
Last week's first leg was fourth time lucky for the former Toulouse midfielder, who had won none of the first three games where he had found the back of the net for Ajax and has now struck three times as a substitute for the Dutch titans.
Erstwhile Champions League regulars before falling on hard times in the post-Erik ten Hag era, Ajax are certainly revelling in their new manager bounce under Farioli, who has now overseen five straight victories in competitive and non-competitive action.
Furthermore, Ajax can solely focus on continental matters for the next week and a half or so, as Farioli's men will not commence their new Eredivisie campaign until the visit of Heerenveen on August 11, which would be sandwiched in between two potential third-round fixtures in the Europa League preliminary section.
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Vojvodina's domestic season is already in full swing, though, as Bozidar Bandovic's crop commenced their new Super Liga campaign with a 3-1 beating of Tekstilac Odzaci before being brought crashing back down to earth at Ajax's headquarters.
Like their more esteemed visitors, the Tulips also blossomed in pre-season with three straight friendly victories, and Ajax's astonishing wastefulness almost saw Vojvodina come away from Amsterdam with an unexpected draw, only for Van den Boomen to do what Van den Boomen does off the bench.
Compared to the 2018-19 Champions League semi-finalists, Vojvodina's European record is extremely modest; the Tulips were European Cup quarter-finalists in 1967, losing to eventual winners Celtic, but have failed to make their presence felt since.
Including qualifying battles, Vojvodina are now on an unsightly three-game losing sequence in Europe's second-tier competition, where their last victory came all the way back in June 2017 over Slovakian foes Ruzomberok in qualifying.
Even that 2-1 triumph was rendered meaningless by a 2-0 second-leg loss, but should they spring a surprise at the TSC Arena this week, a third-round showdown against Bulgaria's Botev Plovdiv or Greece's Panathinaikos will be on the menu.
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Team News
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A handful of infirm Ajax troops will not be making an appearance on Thursday, including Owen Wijndal (arm), Gaston Avila (knee), Amourricho Van Axel-Dongen (knee) and Jay Gorter (unspecified).
With Gorter sidelined, Geronimo Rulli competing at the Olympics with Argentina and Diant Ramaj benched, Remko Pasveer made history in the Ajax goal last week, becoming their oldest-ever player in European competition at 40 years and 260 days.
Farioli should see no reason to drop the 1983-born shot-stopper on Thursday either, while Van den Boomen could hardly have done more to force his way into the XI and should threaten Kian Fitz-Jim's spot in the midfield trident.
As for the hosts, centre-back Djordje Crnomarkovic and midfielder Vukan Savicevic were forced off within a few minutes of one another in the second half of last Thursday's loss, although neither is believed to be carrying anything sinister.
As a result, Congolese striker Jonathan Bolingi may be the only member of Bandovic's squad unavailable for the second leg; the 30-year-old has spent 10 months out with a collapsed lung and should not return anytime soon.
With Bolingi out of contention, 19-year-old Mihailo Ivanovic and his more experienced colleague - 32-year-old Aleksa Vukanovic - fight for the right to spearhead the attack.
FK Vojvodina possible starting lineup:
Carevic; Butean, Sichenje, Crnomarkovic, Barros; Poletanovic, Petrovic; Dele, Savicevic, Sery; Vukanovic
Ajax possible starting lineup:
Pasveer; Rensch, Sutalo, Baas, Hato; Taylor, Henderson, Van den Boomen; Ramsussen, Akpom, Berghuis
We say: FK Vojvodina 0-2 Ajax (Ajax win 3-0 on aggregate)
With a bit more of a cutting edge on home soil, Ajax would have virtually rubber-stamped their third-round place already, but their first-half wastefulness means that the tie is still very much open.
However, under the guidance of Farioli - famed for his defensive exploits at Nice - the visitors' rearguard should comfortably keep the Serbians at bay, while their attacking colleagues ought to leave their mark in Backa Topola to seal a straightforward second-round success.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
