Ajax vs Istanbul Başakşehir 15/07/19

15 July 2019

Ajax and Istanbul Başakşehir will face-off at the Waldstadion Mittersill for a friendly meeting in contrasting circumstances.

The Lancers have enjoyed a stellar season in both Holland and Europe, having won the Eredivisie with 28 wins and just four losses and a stunning +87 goal difference (S119, C32). They have also nearly broken into the Champions League final, but a disappointing 3-2 home loss to Tottenham in the semi-finals eventually saw them exit the competition at the very end. It will be Ajax’s third summer friendly, with Erik ten Hag’s men hammering the Dutch lower-league 11-2 in the first warm-up game before playing out a 1-1 draw with the Danish outfit Aalborg. Interestingly, all five of Ajax’s last matches have seen both teams score while four of them featuring over five or more goals.

Meanwhile, the Turkish heavyweights have secured a comfortable 4-1 win over the Austrian lower-league side USK Anif in their opening summer friendly. Başakşehir finished as runners-up in the Turkish Super Lig last season mainly thanks to their dreadful form in the closing stage of the championship. Okan Buruk’s players have struggled to pick up three points in seven of the last nine league games (W2, D4, L3), with five of those matches featuring under 2.5 goals. Although they’ve been scoring on a regular basis over the past few months, Başakşehir have netted over 1.5 goals per match only three times in their last ten outings.