Raimond van der Gouw: 'Ajax youth could be weakness against Manchester United'

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Raimond van der Gouw has said that Ajax's lack of experience could cost them in the Europa League final.

The two European giants will go head to head in Stockholm on Wednesday night, with some predicting that the emerging talent in Ajax's squad will have too much creativity for United.

However, Van der Gouw - who made 60 appearances for United between 1996 and 2002 - predicts that United could take advantage of any naivety if they can net an early goal.

The 54-year-old is quoted by The Mirror as saying: "The biggest weakness is the age of the group. They can be very good but also very vulnerable, because young players make mistakes.

"It's a very talented team, who always make chances. They have some more experienced players in midfield who feed the forwards. I see the striker, Kasper Dolberg, going to a top club very quickly.

"United have to be very alert if they lose the ball but there are question marks over how Ajax will deal with the pressure of the occasion and how they might react if United score first."

The winners of the contest will gain automatic entry into next season's Champions League.