On 24 of May Stockholm will host the final battle between Ajax and Manchester United for the one of the prestigious trophies in European football. The winner will advance to the UEFA Champions League group stage and will put his name in the Hall of Fame of this tournament.
Ajax – Manchester United
When: Wednesday, 24 May, 19:45 UTC
Where: Friends Arena, Solna, Stockholm
It will be an exiting and very special cup final for all football fans. Now the Europa League is coming out of the shadow of Champions League. The match between Ajax and Manchester United in Europa League will be on a par with European Champions League final. This is the first Europa League final for Jose Mourinho’s team and Manchester United can win the first such trophy in their club history. Ajax is the first dutch team in the European cup final for the last 15 years.
Both teams went through a difficult path to the final. Ajax edged through Lyon in the semi-finals and beat Schalke 04 earlier, where opponents fought till the last breath. At the same time Manchester United confidently won over Celta and Anderlecht, but there were few scary moments towards the end of those games. Originally Man United was the favorite and it was hard to find a worthy opponent for such an European football heavyweight. But this season Ajax is unpredictable, so they can beat United and show a fantastic game or totally lose this final.
The UEFA Europa League is the last chance for Man United to qualify the Champions League and lighten up this year failure in the Premier League. The Portuguese made it clear to everyone that victory in this tournament is the main goal now. Cup tournaments are the forte of The Special One. According to the bookmakers’ preferences the victory of United is very likely. The Red Devils perfectly reads the opponent’s game and uses it’s flaws. Only the red card for Eric Bailly in the semi-final match makes some troubles for Mourinho. Defense and tactics main are Man United advantages against dutch team.
Ajax already has a place in the Champions League in the next season, but they lost the Dutch championship. Victory in this tournament is a great chance to show that Dutch clubs are back to the European football elite. But Ajax instability makes itself felt, with the defeat from Second League Cambuur in the Dutch Cup and few hard play-off games, Ajax could have been kicked out of Europe League. Ajax are very young team. They play without defense, but score a lot. The main task for Peter Bosz to prepare his team for the final and avoid foolish mistakes in the defense.
We expect that Ajax and Manchester United will show the real exciting European football. It’s hard to predict the winner. Man United will play pragmatic and confident football, but Ajax can turn everything into open football and make a real European grandees battle.
You can earn good money in this final battle. You can visit Shangri La sportsbook to place a bet on the 2017 UEFA Europe League winner.
Prediction: Manchester United win with one goal difference. Both teams will score.
