Preview: Ajax vs Olympiacos - prediction, team news, lineups

Ajax will welcome Greek champions Olympiacos to the Johan Cruyff Arena on Wednesday for the final league-phase fixture of this season’s UEFA Champions League, with both sides still fighting to keep their European campaigns alive.

With only one match remaining, the stakes are clear: four-time European champions Ajax require victory to retain any realistic chance of reaching the knockout playoffs, while the visitors can consolidate or even improve their position with a result that would carry their Champions League hopes into February’s playoff round.

Match preview

Ajax enter this decisive fixture having endured a difficult Champions League campaign, sitting 32nd in the standings with six points from seven matches, a return made up of two wins and five defeats in the 2025-26 league phase.

Their form has fluctuated sharply, but after suffering five consecutive league-phase defeats, Fred Grim’s side showed resilience by rallying to a 2-1 away victory over Villarreal last Tuesday, a result that kept their qualification hopes alive heading into the final round.

Statistically, Ajax’s Champions League campaign has been undermined by defensive fragility, with the Dutch side conceding 19 goals across seven matches, an average of 2.72 per game while failing to keep a single clean sheet and conceding the opening goal in every league-phase fixture this season.

Home form has offered little respite, as Ajax have yet to collect a point at the Johan Cruyff Arena in the Champions League this term, a worrying trend ahead of a fixture that demands maximum points.

Despite their defensive issues, Ajax have shown attacking promise, scoring seven goals with contributions spread across the squad, and history may offer encouragement given that they have lost just one of their last 15 UEFA competition meetings with Greek opposition, that lone defeat coming against Panathinaikos in the 2024-25 Europa League qualifiers.

Victory on Wednesday would give de Godenzonen a realistic shot at finishing inside the top 24 and reaching the knockout playoff round, while any other result would almost certainly bring their European journey to an end.

Historically, Ajax and Olympiacos have met six times in UEFA competition, sharing two wins each alongside two draws, with their most recent meetings dating back to the 1998-99 Champions League group stage when Olympiacos won 1-0 at home before Ajax responded with a 2-0 victory in Amsterdam.

© Imago / Focus Images

Olympiacos travel to Amsterdam in a stronger league-phase position than their hosts, sitting on eight points from seven matches after recording two wins, two draws and three defeats, a tally that currently places them 24th, the final playoff qualification spot in the 36-team league table.

The Greek champions arrive buoyed by a crucial 2-0 home victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday, a result that preserved their hopes of progressing and formed part of a rare two-match winning run in the Champions League proper, something they have not achieved since the 2015-16 group stage.

Olympiacos have demonstrated notable resilience in Europe, losing only one of their last six UEFA competition matches against Dutch opposition while registering two wins and three draws during that span.

In attacking terms, the Legends have scored eight goals while conceding 13 in the league phase, illustrating a side capable of contributing at both ends of the pitch, although their away form has often been inconsistent, with goals harder to come by on their Champions League travels.

Olympiacos are now targeting back-to-back away wins in the Champions League proper for just the second time in their history, having previously achieved the feat during the 2015-16 group stage, a milestone that adds further significance to Wednesday’s encounter.

With playoff qualification still within reach, a positive result in Amsterdam would leave Olympiacos firmly in contention for progression through the knockout playoff round and represent a major step forward in their European campaign.

Ajax Champions League form:

Ajax form (all competitions):

Olympiacos Champions League form:

Olympiacos form (all competitions):

Team News

© Imago / Pro Shots

Ajax will be without the injured Wout Weghorst and Steven Berghuis, while Takehiro Tomiyasu remains short of match fitness following his mid-season arrival, limiting Grim’s options at both ends of the pitch.

Additionally, Baas Youri and Anton Gaaei are both one booking away from a one-match suspension should Ajax progress to the playoff stage of the competition.

Olympiacos, by contrast, arrive with a largely fit squad, with long-term absentees Theofanis Bakoulas and 18-year-old Konstantinos Angelakis sidelined by cruciate ligament injuries, while goalkeeper Alexandros Paschalakis continues to recover from a calf problem.

There is positive news for Mendilibar, however, as Moroccan striker Ayoub El Kaabi returned to the starting lineup in last weekend’s win over Volos following his Africa Cup of Nations involvement, while Roman Yaremchuk has shaken off minor injury concerns to rejoin the squad.

Garcia Daniel and Mehdi Taremi are both walking a disciplinary tightrope, with another yellow card set to rule either player out of Olympiacos’ next Champions League fixture.

Ajax possible starting lineup:

Jaros; Gaaei, Bouwman, Baas, Wijndal; Regeer; Mokio, Klaassen; Gloukh, Godts; Dolberg

Olympiacos possible starting lineup:

Tzolakis; Costinha, Retsos, Pirola, Ortega; Mouzakitis, Hezze; Rodinei, Chiquinho, Gelson Martins, El Kaabi 

We say: Ajax 2-0 Olympiacos

Ajax have endured a challenging Champions League campaign but appear to have rediscovered momentum at a crucial stage, winning their last two matches to keep qualification hopes alive, and they need a home victory which has eluded them this season but have a perfect opportunity to achieve that with everything on the line.

Although Olympiacos hold a stronger league-phase position, their struggles on the road - combined with the intensity of the atmosphere at the Johan Cruyff Arena - could prove decisive, with the Dutch side backed to seize the moment in a must-win encounter.

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