AZ Alkmaar v Ajax Betting Tips [8 May 2022]
Football - Eredivisie
8 May 2022 8:30
The match
Only three matches remain in the Dutch Eredivisie season and defending champions Ajax already have one hand on their third consecutive league crown. Ajax sit top of the table with 78 points and a four-point lead over second place PSV. They travel away to fifth-place AZ Alkmaar for this match and are seeking an eighth straight league victory that would put de Godenzonen one step closer to a record 36th league title. Their opponents today could make things tough for them however, as AZ have been terrific at the AFAS Stadium. It’s been somewhat of a disappointing year for the hosts who, as things stand now, are set to miss out on the top four for the first time since the 2016/17 season. AZ sit in fifth-place with 59 points but trail fourth-place FC Twente by three points while possessing a superior goal differential.
AZ has an impressive home record of 11 wins, two draws and two defeats with a goal differential of +18. The visitors will need to be at the top of their game here as the last thing Ajax will want is to give PSV life in the race for the league title, especially after losing the final of the KNVB cup to the Rood-witten three weeks ago. We’re going to pay close attention to Ajax’s fantastic defensive form this season as the influence for our bet. The Dutch giants have far-and-away the best defensive record in the Eredivisie, conceding half the goals of the next lowest team Feyenoord. Ajax have only conceded 15 league goals this season and have kept a remarkable 21 clean sheets in 31 matches. The highly potent Ajax attack often steals the headlines, and rightly so with an average of nearly three goals per match, but away from home their numbers cool off a bit. Ajax have scored 32 away goals compared to 57 at home while conceding a similar number of goals.Key Statistics
- Ajax have kept 10 clean sheets in their 15 away matches.
- The average total goals per match for Ajax drops from 4.06 at home to 2.60 away from home.
- AZ have been consistently strong at home but there have been games in which they have stalled, failing to score in three of their 15 home matches.
The bet of our experts
Under 3 goals is going to be our bet for this matchup. Ajax have an elite defense that maintains its strong form regardless of the venue. This is Ajax’s toughest remaining fixture, so we expect the visitors to come out fully focused and with an emphasis on keeping the hosts off the score sheet and grinding out the three points. Having the push protection if the game ends 2-1 or 3-0 is a nice bonus in what could be a low-scoring match.
