Ajax have 46 points from 22 games to be placed second in the Dutch league – three points behind leaders Feyenoord.
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Union Berlin welcome Ajax to Stadion An der Alten Forsterei for the second leg of Europa League playoff tie on Thursday night. This contest will be interesting cause both teams have a chance of progressing through to the next round. The reverse fixture in the Netherlands ended in a goalless draw, hence they both will be quietly confident of extending their stay in the competition. Therefore, both sets of supporters can expect to see an intriguing battle unfold before them on Thursday night.
These two sides are also defensively strong, as opponents have often struggled to break them down. Hence, it will not be a total surprise if there are not too many goals in this fixture and the tie is decided by the tinniest of margins. Union Berlin have been a revelation so far in Bundesliga. They are level on points with leaders Bayern Munich at the top of the table. However, they could have leapfrogged the German giants at the weekend but instead played out a goalless draw at home to bottom-placed Schalke 04 which prevented them going atop the table.
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Meanwhile, Ajax have also turned around the tide a bit in recent weeks. After Johnny Heitinga became the interim manager, they have done really well to close down the gap to the table toppers in Eredivisie. As things stand, Ajax have 46 points from 22 games to be placed second in the Dutch league – three points behind leaders Feyenoord. On the other hand, Union Berlin are sitting third with 43 points from 21 matches to be level on points with leaders Bayern Munich.
There are not too many injury concerns both sides have to deal with ahead of this contest on Thursday night. Union Berlin will be sweating over the illness situation of Diogo Leite. However, they will be boosted by the return of Janik Haberer and Christopher Trimmel. On the other hand, Ajax do not have any reported fresh injury crisis hence they could retain their same winning team from the weekend.
Union Berlin possible line-up: Ronnow, Doekhi, Knoche, Leite, Trimmel, Laidouni, Khedira, Haberer, Roussillon, Behrens, Michel
Ajax possible line-up: Rulli, Rensch, Timber, Bassey, Wijndal, Alvarez, Taylor, Berghuis, Bergwijn, Kudus, Tadic
Union Berlin
| Opponents | Score |
| Schalke | 0-0 |
| Ajax | 0-0 |
| RB Leipzig | 1-2 (W) |
| Mainz | 2-1 (W) |
| Wolfsburg | 2-1 (W) |
Ajax
| Opponents | Score |
| Sparta | 4-0 (W) |
| Union Berlin | 0-0 |
| Waalwijk | 3-1 (W) |
| Twente | 0-1 (W) |
| Cambuur | 0-5 (W) |
| Matches | Score |
| Ajax draw Union Berlin | 0-0 |
| Ajax draw Union Berlin | 2-2 |
The UEFA Europa League match between Union Berlin and Ajax will take place at Stadion An der Alten Forsterei on Friday at 1:30 am IST.
For football fans in India, live coverage of the UEFA Europa League matches will be available on the Sony Sports network. Besides, fans can also live stream the matches via Jio TV. Meanwhile, those in Germany can catch the live action between Union Berlin and Ajax on RTL, RTL+; and Watch ESPN, ESPN 4, ESPN 2, Veronica TV in the Netherlands.
