The upcoming game between Ajax and Atalanta will be the key fixture in the UEFA Champions League group D that will determine the second team qualifying for the next round. Atalanta have a one-point advantage and only need a draw to quality, while Ajax must grab the full package of points if they want to continue their European journey.
There were some impressive displays by both teams, but their vulnerabilities have also been underlined on a few occasions. That led to the uncertainty of who is about to qualify further.
Both Ajax and Atalanta have real chances to join Liverpool as the second team going through to the next round, should they organise well defensively and manage to stop each other’s efforts on the ball.
The teams are very particular in their attacking actions and have all the assets to smartly expose the opposition using both individual skill and well-thought team movement.
This preview in the form of a tactical analysis will examine what tactics could Ajax use dismiss Atalanta’s one-point advantage and tilt the scales in their favour.
How injuries could affect Ajax’s performance?
Both teams might experience struggles due to some of their key players being absent for the game.
Ajax’s coverage of the wide areas might need some readjustments since two of their players David Neres and Noussair Mazraoui are out with injuries. While Neres hasn’t been a regular started in Eredivisie this season, he is still important for the team’s successful attacking actions.
His absence limits Ajax’s options up front, and while their usual front set-up consists of Anthony, Dušan Tadić and Lassina Traoré they might miss Neres’ versatility in attack, especially against Atalanta’s heavy man-marking strategy. Neres could’ve been useful for ball progression and holding on to the ball in the advanced areas thanks to his ball control and creativity.
The right-back Mazraoui will miss out on the important game, and that could cause some struggles for Ajax both defensively and in attack. They heavily rely on ball progression through the wide areas, and he is a crucial part of their efforts. Now that he won’t be available, Ten Hag would have to rely on Sean Klaiber. The Dutch has performed quite consistently so far, and the only obstacle for him to not replace Mazraoui successfully could be the limited playing time he gets, meaning his connection with his teammates might be lacking.
In terms of the team’s defensive performance though, they might even benefit from Klaiber’s presence, since his actions during defensive transitions are better thought, and he has higher success percentage.
That wouldn’t be enough against Atalanta’s unstoppable attacking line though, and he needs to be in sync with his teammates in order to block their creativity and close out space. Klaiber’s ball recovery abilities could be very beneficial against Atalanta’s three-man backline, especially for counter-attacking where La Dea turn out quite vulnerable.
Atalanta’s squad update
That leads to the struggles that they might experience due to the absence of their left wing-back Robin Gosens who tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss the game along with Aleksei Miranchuk. Atalanta’s performance during transitions might be affected since Gosens is one of their key performers and supports both the defensive line and the attacking actions. Ajax wouldn’t usually rely on counter-attacking too often, but this might be a winning strategy for them in the absence of the German. Although Ajax are missing some of their players on the right, they have a better advantage in these areas thanks to Gosens’ absence and they could benefit should they use it smartly.
Johan Mojica is expected to replace him and not that he isn’t successful in his actions, but the team become much more predictable and cross reliant with him. He has a better success rate in some areas but lacks the explosiveness and smart movement off the ball that his teammate has.
Gian Piero Gasperini won’t be able to rely on Pierluigi Gollini again, which leaves La Dea with Marco Sportiello on the goal. The good news is that while Miranchuk’s contribution could’ve been beneficial, especially as a late change, his absence shouldn’t affect Atalanta’s attacking strategy much.
