Ajax v Rangers

Ajax naturally start their Champions League home fixture against Rangers as a strong favourite to pick up three points. The clubs, after all, come into this game after 4-0 results at the weekend. Ajax beat Cambuur by that scoreline while Rangers suffered an embarrassing loss at Celtic, in which their defence was caught sleeping.

As a result of the manner of their weekend defeat, look for Rangers to first and foremost seek to shore up their backline. The sloppy nature of the goals scored by Celtic cannot be allowed to continue at this level and manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst will have drilled into his side the importance of being focused throughout this match – especially when the ball goes dead.

Although Rangers have typically been involved in high-scoring games this season, look for them to drag this match into a battle of attrition – the type of which they already played in the Netherlands this season as they beat PSV 1-0. A repeat of that encounter is what they will travel aiming for.

Ajax, meanwhile, have seen a significant squad overhaul in the summer and may find it complicated to break down a defence that has a focus on simply keeping things tight. Steven Bergwijn will start this match as their outstanding threat, having scored six times in the Eredivisie already this season. Rangers will be disappointed if they are quite so welcoming to the former Spurs man, though.

Certainly, Ajax deserve their favouritism, but the odds on them appear too short. Instead, don’t expect a free-for-all of attacking football.

Napoli v Liverpool

Not for the first time in recent Champions League seasons, Napoli welcome Premier League side Liverpool to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in their 2022/23 Champions League opener this Wednesday evening.

This is a game that might have previously had Partenopei fans a little more fearful, but the Reds’ start to the Premier League season has fallen a little short of expectations and, as a result, the hosts will fancy themselves to add to Jurgen Klopp’s early-season struggles.

Meanwhile Napoli have enjoyed a fine start to the Serie A season and have been performing above all expectations. There had been some concern through the summer as they saw some big names leave the club, but new signings Kim Min-jae and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia have had a real impact on Luciano Spalletti’s side. The former has allowed them to move on from Kalidou Koulibaly seamlessly, while the latter has earned the nickname Kvaradona already, showing just how well the locals have taken to him.

Both teams are a threat on the attack, even if nine of Liverpool’s 15 Premier League goals so far this term came in the one game. Napoli are Serie A’s top scorers so far with 12 goals from five matches. 

It is, then, hard not to see both sides scoring in this one, and each of the two will want to start their European campaign on the best foot possible and get three points on the board early. 

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